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The Atlas

Municipalities in Ilocos Region

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 Region
Cagayan ValleyCentral LuzonCordillera Administrative RegionIlocos NorteIlocos SurLa UnionPangasinan

Municipalities in Ilocos Region, at a glance

Municipalities
116[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
4,303,461[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
11,899.51 km²[5]
Each municipality's official area, added up.
Most people
Malasiqui[4]
Pangasinan
144,344 people
Fewest people
Carasi[4]
Ilocos Norte
1,775 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
Vintar[5]
Ilocos Norte
539.20 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
Currimao[5]
Ilocos Norte
11,672 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
Nueva Era[4]
Ilocos Norte
2.57% 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
19 municipalities[4]
Of those with 10,000 people or more, the steepest fall: Paoay, −0.77% a year.

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.

116 municipalities, 1 to 50 shown, most people first.

Municipalities in Ilocos Region, most people
RankNamePeople, 2024People per km²Land areaGrowth, 2020–2024
1MalasiquiPangasinan144,3441,124128.38 km²0.21% a year
2BayambangPangasinan129,506904143.18 km²0.09% a year
3MangaldanPangasinan113,3022,37047.80 km²0.02% a year
4LingayenPangasinan108,5101,71763.20 km²0.17% a year
5CalasiaoPangasinan100,6862,06748.70 km²0.05% a year
6Santa BarbaraPangasinan92,4201,34068.95 km²0.06% a year
7BinmaleyPangasinan88,0061,43161.48 km²0.31% a year
8San FabianPangasinan87,7141,12478.03 km²0.08% a year
9BolinaoPangasinan84,658432196.11 km²0.19% a year
10MangataremPangasinan79,648257310.34 km²0.10% a year
11UminganPangasinan78,940296266.78 km²0.58% a year
12BauangLa Union77,6701,07872.08 km²−0.24% a year
13ManaoagPangasinan76,6061,37955.55 km²0.18% a year
14BugallonPangasinan76,027420181.00 km²0.34% a year
15PozorrubioPangasinan75,1431,06970.32 km²0.13% a year
16RosalesPangasinan67,51097869.01 km²0.29% a year
17AgooLa Union65,2561,23752.75 km²−0.28% a year
18VillasisPangasinan65,08679681.74 km²0.01% a year
19RosarioLa Union58,79777975.48 km²−0.59% a year
20AsinganPangasinan58,34982370.91 km²0.22% a year
21San ManuelPangasinan56,876443128.35 km²1.13% a year
22BinalonanPangasinan56,56097757.90 km²0.08% a year
23UrbiztondoPangasinan56,3491,32042.70 km²0.34% a year
24NaguilianLa Union53,443517103.35 km²0.57% a year
25BaniPangasinan52,715262200.84 km²0.05% a year
26SisonPangasinan51,4391,14345.02 km²−0.41% a year
27AringayLa Union50,78655990.82 km²0.19% a year
28AlcalaPangasinan49,47989155.56 km²0.28% a year
29NarvacanIlocos Sur46,265373123.97 km²0.02% a year
30TayugPangasinan45,47697646.61 km²0.12% a year
31AguilarPangasinan45,363233194.74 km²0.14% a year
32BacnotanLa Union45,20361573.53 km²0.44% a year
33San JacintoPangasinan44,7131,29234.61 km²0.20% a year
34Santo TomasLa Union42,7771,07139.94 km²1.11% a year
35AndaPangasinan42,68856775.32 km²0.65% a year
36TagudinIlocos Sur41,60685448.71 km²0.04% a year
37San JuanLa Union41,31969759.31 km²0.48% a year
38Santa CruzIlocos Sur41,29646189.64 km²−0.04% a year
39BalaoanLa Union40,44052177.58 km²0.06% a year
40DingrasIlocos Norte40,176356112.90 km²0.03% a year
41San NicolasPangasinan40,144152263.79 km²0.22% a year
42San NicolasIlocos Norte39,11693341.91 km²0.14% a year
43CabugaoIlocos Sur38,98142292.34 km²0.06% a year
44SualPangasinan38,625301128.51 km²−0.29% a year
45MapandanPangasinan38,2281,82021.00 km²0.11% a year
46BangarLa Union38,1901,01837.53 km²0.09% a year
47LunaLa Union38,07688842.90 km²0.48% a year
48BasistaPangasinan37,8401,41026.83 km²0.10% a year
49BantayIlocos Sur37,08851871.63 km²−0.02% a year
50BautistaPangasinan35,72879844.80 km²0.22% 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.