Yacuyia means volcano hill and it is a native word as well as the name of the municipality.Today Ixpantepec Nieves is a lonely town because most of its population has migrated to other countries looking for a better way of life, this is due to the high unemployment rates and the scarce opportunities to get out of poverty.

The other ten percent of the population mainly relies on commerce to earn money to support their families; they sell hats and other products made out of palm tree leaves.

Only a minimum percentage of the population work on logging, but that activity has been disappearing since the surrounding area of the town was declared protected zone in 2001.

According to the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (INEGI), for its initials in Spanish, in 2000 the economically active population of Ixpantepec Nieves was around 258 persons.

The most important communication media are two mail agencies, a rural phone cabin, a radio signal and several television antennas.