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The Atlas

Municipalities in Ilocos Sur

A municipality is a local government made up of barangays, led by a mayor, a vice mayor and the Sangguniang Bayan, the municipal council.[1] Only Congress can create one, by law, approved in a plebiscite. The law asks for an income of ₱2.5 million a year, 25,000 people and 50 km² of land.[1]

A municipality that grows can become a component city by law, once it earns ₱100 million a year and has 100 km² of land or 150,000 people.[1, 2]

Open Ilocos Sur
AbraBenguetIlocos NorteLa UnionMountain ProvinceAlilemBanayoyoBantayBurgosCabugaoCaoayanCervantesCandon CityVigan CityGalimuyodGregorio del PilarLidliddaMagsingalNagbukelNarvacanQuirinoSalcedoSan EmilioSan EstebanSan IldefonsoSan JuanSan VicenteSantaSanta CatalinaSanta CruzSanta LuciaSanta MariaSantiagoSanto DomingoSigaySinaitSugponSuyoTagudin

Municipalities in Ilocos Sur, at a glance

Municipalities
32[3]
People, 2024CensusA count of every person in the country, all on one day. The 2024 census counted people as they were on 1 July 2024.More in the glossary
594,178[4]
Land areaLand areaThe land inside the place's official boundary. A square kilometre is a square 1 km on each side, about the size of 140 football fields.More in the glossary
2,550.40 km²[5]
Each municipality's official area, added up.
Most people
Narvacan[4]
Ilocos Sur
46,265 people
Fewest people
Sigay[4]
Ilocos Sur
2,577 people
Largest by landLand areaThe land inside the place's official boundary. A square kilometre is a square 1 km on each side, about the size of 140 football fields.More in the glossary
Cervantes[5]
Ilocos Sur
389.14 km²
Most crowdedPopulation densityHow crowded a place is on average: its people divided by its land area. 1,000 people per square kilometre is 10 people per hectare, a square of 100 by 100 metres.More in the glossary
Santa Catalina[5]
Ilocos Sur
1,530 people per km²
Fastest growing, 10,000 people or moreGrowth a yearHow fast the number of people changed each year between two censuses. 1% a year means about 1 more person for every 100 people, each year.More in the glossary
Cervantes[4]
Ilocos Sur
0.75% a year, 2020 to 2024
Fewer people than in 2020Growth a yearHow fast the number of people changed each year between two censuses. 1% a year means about 1 more person for every 100 people, each year.More in the glossary
7 municipalities[4]
Of those with 10,000 people or more, the steepest fall: Santa Catalina, −0.29% a year.
Island group: Luzon
Region: Ilocos Region
Province: Ilocos Sur
Sort: Most people

Each row is a municipality, with its 2024 census figures. Choose a column heading or a sort button to order the list, and choose it again to turn the order round. Narrow it with the menus.

32 municipalities, most people first.

Municipalities in Ilocos Sur, most people
RankNamePeople, 2024People per km²Land areaGrowth, 2020–2024
1NarvacanIlocos Sur46,265373123.97 km²0.02% a year
2TagudinIlocos Sur41,60685448.71 km²0.04% a year
3Santa CruzIlocos Sur41,29646189.64 km²−0.04% a year
4CabugaoIlocos Sur38,98142292.34 km²0.06% a year
5BantayIlocos Sur37,08851871.63 km²−0.02% a year
6MagsingalIlocos Sur31,97036687.34 km²0.50% a year
7Santa MariaIlocos Sur30,07647663.23 km²0.06% a year
8Santo DomingoIlocos Sur29,37255453.01 km²0.27% a year
9San JuanIlocos Sur26,70935675.05 km²0.03% a year
10Santa LuciaIlocos Sur26,20058045.15 km²0.22% a year
11SinaitIlocos Sur26,05934176.43 km²0.06% a year
12CervantesIlocos Sur20,06552389.14 km²0.75% a year
13SantiagoIlocos Sur19,77140448.96 km²0.37% a year
14CaoayanIlocos Sur19,7151,06218.56 km²0.17% a year
15SantaIlocos Sur15,16423963.51 km²0.27% a year
16Santa CatalinaIlocos Sur14,3191,5309.36 km²−0.29% a year
17San VicenteIlocos Sur13,07498713.25 km²−0.08% a year
18BurgosIlocos Sur13,02626549.11 km²0.43% a year
19SalcedoIlocos Sur11,196110101.55 km²0.19% a year
20SuyoIlocos Sur11,05179139.14 km²0.63% a year
21GalimuyodIlocos Sur10,26333530.66 km²0.04% a year
22QuirinoIlocos Sur9,46035266.70 km²0.39% a year
23San EstebanIlocos Sur8,62143319.92 km²0.68% a year
24San IldefonsoIlocos Sur8,21377810.56 km²0.07% a year
25BanayoyoIlocos Sur7,95333223.98 km²0.07% a year
26AlilemIlocos Sur7,7369383.46 km²1.20% a year
27San EmilioIlocos Sur7,51331244.44 km²1.01% a year
28NagbukelIlocos Sur5,37011945.29 km²−0.42% a year
29LidliddaIlocos Sur4,84615830.65 km²0.71% a year
30Gregorio del PilarIlocos Sur4,38511338.90 km²−0.47% a year
31SugponIlocos Sur4,23818722.64 km²−3.56% a year
32SigayIlocos Sur2,5773574.12 km²0.23% a year

How it fits

Cities and municipalities are the local governments of the towns, each led by a mayor, a vice mayor and a council, and each made up of barangays. A municipality becomes a city by a law of Congress, once it earns enough and has enough people or land.

  1. Island groups3Luzon, the Visayas, Mindanao: a grouping, not a government
  2. Regions18Big areas that group provinces
  3. Provinces82Each led by a governor
  4. Cities and municipalities1,642Each led by a mayor
  5. Barangays42,010The smallest unit, led by a punong barangay (kapitan)

Sources

The list shows each place's own figures: people from the PSA's 2024 census, growth from its 2020 census, land areas from the Land Management Bureau's 2019 masterlist. Every figure's source is on its place's page; how Scene works out the rest.

  1. 1.Congress of the Philippines. Republic Act No. 7160: the Local Government Code of 1991. Published October 10, 1991. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. Philippine government work, no copyright (Republic Act No. 8293, Section 176.1). Open the source
  2. 2.Congress of the Philippines. Republic Act No. 9009: amending Section 450 of the Local Government Code, raising the income a municipality needs to become a component city. Published February 24, 2001. Read by Scene October 3, 2026. Philippine government work, no copyright (Republic Act No. 8293, Section 176.1). Open the source
  3. 3.Philippine Statistics Authority. Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC), 2nd Quarter 2026: Publication Datafile. Published June 30, 2026. Read by Scene September 24, 2026. CC BY (PSA Terms of Use). Open the source
  4. 4.Philippine Statistics Authority. Population and Annual Population Growth Rate of the Philippines and its Regions, Provinces, and Highly Urbanized Cities Based on the 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2024 Population Census (OpenSTAT table 0211A6DAPG0). Published August 7, 2026. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. CC BY (PSA Terms of Use). Open the source
  5. 5.Philippine Statistics Authority, from the Land Management Bureau (DENR). Population, Land Area, Population Density, and Percent Change in Population Density by Region, Province/Highly Urbanized City, and City/Municipality: 2015, 2020, and 2024 (OpenSTAT table 0221A6DLPD0). Published August 7, 2026. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. CC BY (PSA Terms of Use). Open the source

Scene adds what the sources do not print themselves: growth rates, shares, barangay areas and densities, coordinates, neighbours and distances, each computed from the figures and borders above. How each is made.

See something wrong on this page? Write to hello@scene.ph with the page address. We check every report against the source.