In Michoacán it borders the municipalities of Álvaro Obregón to the west, Indaparapeo and Queréndaro to the southwest, Hidalgo to the southeast, and Maravatío to the east.

[6] Two Purépecha words have been suggested as possible sources of the place name Zinapécuaro: tzinapo "obsidian" or tzinápecua "healing".

[5] In the Postclassic period the area was controlled by the Tarascans, who built a temple there to worship Cuerauáperi [Wikidata], the mother goddess of Purépecha mythology.

[10] The municipal government comprises a president, a councillor (Spanish: síndico), and ten trustees (regidores), six elected by relative majority and four by proportional representation.

[4] There are 97 localities in the municipality,[1] four of which are classified as urban: Zinapécuaro's economy is largely dependent on foreign remittances.