Nuevo Ideal was formerly known as "Estación Patos," and part of the Canatlán Municipality.
As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 26,092.[1]
As of 2010, the city of Nuevo Ideal had a population of 10,876.[1] Other than the city of Nuevo Ideal, the municipality had 182 localities, the largest of which (with 2010 populations in parentheses) were: Esfuerzos Unidos (1,083) and Guatimapé (1,083), classified as rural.[1]