The Atlas

Municipalities in Zambales

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 Zambales

Municipalities in Zambales, at a glance

Municipalities: 13^[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: 681,225^[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: 3,830.65 km²^[5]; Each municipality's official area, added up.
Most people: Subic^[4]; Zambales; 116,788 people
Fewest people: San Felipe^[4]; Zambales; 26,081 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: Botolan^[5]; Zambales; 794.75 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: Castillejos^[5]; Zambales; 751 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: Palauig^[4]; Zambales; 2.02% 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: None of the 13^[4]; Every one had more people in 2024 than in 2020.

Island group: Luzon

Region: Central Luzon

Province: Zambales

Sort: Most people

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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.

13 municipalities, most people first.

Municipalities in Zambales, most people
Rank	Name	People, 2024	People per km²	Land area	Growth, 2020–2024
1	SubicZambales	116,788	453	258.00 km²	1.03% a year
2	BotolanZambales	70,340	89	794.75 km²	1.27% a year
3	CastillejosZambales	70,105	751	93.30 km²	0.77% a year
4	Santa CruzZambales	66,647	131	510.21 km²	1.04% a year
5	IbaZambales	59,580	274	217.07 km²	1.68% a year
6	MasinlocZambales	56,579	110	514.01 km²	0.89% a year
7	PalauigZambales	43,250	181	239.42 km²	2.02% a year
8	San MarcelinoZambales	39,542	104	379.95 km²	1.14% a year
9	San AntonioZambales	38,617	225	171.77 km²	0.74% a year
10	CandelariaZambales	32,182	116	278.02 km²	1.49% a year
11	San NarcisoZambales	32,180	368	87.39 km²	1.09% a year
12	CabanganZambales	29,334	169	173.38 km²	1.02% a year
13	San FelipeZambales	26,081	230	113.38 km²	0.99% 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.

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.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.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.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.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.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.