The Atlas

Municipalities

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]}

Map of the Philippines, every municipality in a colour of its own — Every municipality in a colour of its own, no two side by side alike.

At a glance

Municipalities: 1,493^[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: 66,090,986^[4]; About 59 of every 100 people in the country live in a municipality.
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: 285,167.45 km²^[5]; Each municipality's official area, added up.
Most people: Rodriguez^[4]; Rizal; 451,383 people
Fewest people: Kalayaan^[4]; Palawan; 406 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: Sablayan^[5]; Occidental Mindoro; 2,640.39 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: Pateros^[5]; Metro Manila; 26,400 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: Lantawan^[4]; Basilan; 11.45% 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: 257 municipalities^[4]; Of those with 10,000 people or more, the steepest fall: Talusan, −10.05% 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.

1,493 municipalities, 401 to 450 shown, most people first.

Municipalities, most people
Rank	Name	People, 2024	People per km²	Land area	Growth, 2020–2024
401	San JoaquinIloilo	52,773	227	232.07 km²	0.07% a year
402	GuiuanEastern Samar	52,749	304	173.73 km²	−0.28% a year
403	AuroraZamboanga del Sur	52,746	330	159.67 km²	−0.11% a year
404	ClaveriaMisamis Oriental	52,718	80	662.66 km²	0.11% a year
405	BaniPangasinan	52,715	262	200.84 km²	0.05% a year
406	Panglima SugalaTawi-Tawi	52,657	266	198.05 km²	2.22% a year
407	MolaveZamboanga del Sur	52,540	189	277.73 km²	−0.27% a year
408	GloriaOriental Mindoro	52,296	202	258.55 km²	0.84% a year
409	KalamansigSultan Kudarat	52,257	106	495.21 km²	0.63% a year
410	VictoriaOriental Mindoro	52,215	205	254.94 km²	0.02% a year
411	BatoCamarines Sur	52,021	480	108.35 km²	−0.06% a year
412	PontevedraCapiz	51,956	484	107.43 km²	1.06% a year
413	MinalabacCamarines Sur	51,841	394	131.56 km²	−0.97% a year
414	DonsolSorsogon	51,781	345	149.99 km²	0.71% a year
415	DumaraoCapiz	51,633	221	233.27 km²	1.01% a year
416	Santa CruzMarinduque	51,594	236	218.24 km²	−1.39% a year
417	ArakanCotabato	51,584	97	530.44 km²	0.48% a year
418	LibonaBukidnon	51,555	135	380.63 km²	1.24% a year
419	CardonaRizal	51,493	2,643	19.48 km²	0.64% a year
420	SisonPangasinan	51,439	1,143	45.02 km²	−0.41% a year
421	El NidoPalawan	51,367	87	591.14 km²	0.41% a year
422	President RoxasCotabato	51,245	128	401.36 km²	−0.58% a year
423	SioconZamboanga del Norte	51,239	161	317.97 km²	1.31% a year
424	RosarioAgusan del Sur	51,207	133	385.05 km²	0.76% a year
425	TrentoAgusan del Sur	51,179	92	556.02 km²	−1.49% a year
426	CatainganMasbate	51,165	263	194.45 km²	0.26% a year
427	WaoLanao del Sur	51,081	140	363.88 km²	0.34% a year
428	BunawanAgusan del Sur	50,999	97	524.88 km²	1.71% a year
429	Lumba-BayabaoLanao del Sur	50,959	78	656.96 km²	2.53% a year
430	PanayCapiz	50,946	389	130.93 km²	0.99% a year
431	AmulungCagayan	50,903	192	264.51 km²	0.27% a year
432	PeñablancaCagayan	50,856	41	1,246.23 km²	0.26% a year
433	AringayLa Union	50,786	559	90.82 km²	0.19% a year
434	DulagLeyte	50,728	628	80.76 km²	0.84% a year
435	PasacaoCamarines Sur	50,708	339	149.73 km²	−1.26% a year
436	AyungonNegros Oriental	50,688	195	259.61 km²	1.78% a year
437	CaramoanCamarines Sur	50,433	175	287.89 km²	−0.61% a year
438	TubodLanao del Norte	50,395	286	175.97 km²	0.15% a year
439	CarmenBohol	50,249	231	217.28 km²	0.51% a year
440	New BataanDavao de Oro	50,212	91	554.21 km²	−0.59% a year
441	MinalinPampanga	50,126	1,016	49.35 km²	0.85% a year
442	South UpiMaguindanao del Sur	50,018	111	451.41 km²	3.58% a year
443	MabiniBatangas	49,876	1,237	40.31 km²	−0.47% a year
444	Barotac ViejoIloilo	49,736	308	161.64 km²	0.55% a year
445	MalinaoAlbay	49,570	422	117.40 km²	1.08% a year
446	OcampoCamarines Sur	49,535	451	109.81 km²	−0.73% a year
447	AlcalaPangasinan	49,479	891	55.56 km²	0.28% a year
448	PagalunganMaguindanao del Sur	49,326	260	189.78 km²	1.54% a year
449	TubigonBohol	49,275	804	61.32 km²	0.69% a year
450	TubaBenguet	49,268	110	449.26 km²	0.47% 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.