The municipality is one of the most economically marginalized in the state, with the Secretaría de Desarrollo Social (SEDESOL) cataloging it as one of the 200 most socioeconomically marginalized in the country. This is the main reason why Arroyo Seco and other municipalities in the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro have high rates of emigration. It is not known exactly how many have left or how many come back at the end of the year to visit family, but Arroyo Seco estimates that about forty percent of its population is living somewhere in the United States. The amount sent back in remittances is also not known, but it has been estimated at between 50,000 and US$100,000 per day or about US$18 million per year to the Sierra Gorda alone, based on money exchanges made in the main city of Jalpan de Serra. This amount supersedes the annual municipal budget of Arroyo Seco and other area municipalities and generally superseded money generated by municipal economies. In Arroyo Seco, one in four homes is supported by dollars sent home by family in the United States. These migrants not only provide remittances directly to their families, they have also formed clubs with the purpose of promoting infrastructure projects in their home communities. The Club de Migrantes de la Sierra Gorda is an association of twenty seven of these clubs from various municipalities, with three from Arroyo Seco. Most of the projects are related paving, water distribution and sewerage/drainage. These dollars are often matched through a program sponsored by the Mexican federal government. Many businesses in the municipality and the rest of the Sierra Gorda take the dollar as currency, especially at the end of the year when many come to the area to visit family. Arroyo Seco has one of the highest rates of emigration in Querétaro. Arroyo Seco is one of the sponsors of the Día del Paisano to honor returning migrant workers in Jalpan de Serra. This events includes parades and raffles.