The Atlas

Municipalities in Cagayan

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 Cagayan

Municipalities in Cagayan, at a glance

Municipalities: 28^[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: 1,117,379^[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: 9,440.68 km²^[5]; Each municipality's official area, added up.
Most people: Baggao^[4]; Cagayan; 90,723 people
Fewest people: Santa Praxedes^[4]; Cagayan; 4,643 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: Peñablanca^[5]; Cagayan; 1,246.23 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: Solana^[5]; Cagayan; 447 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: Iguig^[4]; Cagayan; 1.01% 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: 5 municipalities^[4]; Of those with 10,000 people or more, the steepest fall: Santa Ana, −0.74% a year.

Island group: All

Region: Cagayan Valley

Province: Cagayan

Sort: Most people

Sort

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.

28 municipalities, most people first.

Municipalities in Cagayan, most people
Rank	Name	People, 2024	People per km²	Land area	Growth, 2020–2024
1	BaggaoCagayan	90,723	91	995.49 km²	0.80% a year
2	SolanaCagayan	89,840	447	200.80 km²	0.38% a year
3	AparriCagayan	68,368	258	264.60 km²	−0.16% a year
4	TuaoCagayan	66,147	293	225.82 km²	0.81% a year
5	GattaranCagayan	59,704	84	707.50 km²	0.34% a year
6	AmulungCagayan	50,903	192	264.51 km²	0.27% a year
7	PeñablancaCagayan	50,856	41	1,246.23 km²	0.26% a year
8	Lal-LoCagayan	48,404	68	715.80 km²	−0.16% a year
9	LasamCagayan	42,042	191	219.77 km²	0.47% a year
10	GonzagaCagayan	41,994	73	571.84 km²	0.18% a year
11	AlcalaCagayan	41,468	245	169.14 km²	0.10% a year
12	EnrileCagayan	36,481	219	166.60 km²	−0.15% a year
13	AllacapanCagayan	35,946	117	306.80 km²	0.48% a year
14	AbulugCagayan	35,347	217	162.60 km²	0.53% a year
15	Santa AnaCagayan	34,595	78	440.81 km²	−0.74% a year
16	BallesterosCagayan	34,562	284	121.54 km²	0.05% a year
17	ClaveriaCagayan	32,997	211	156.63 km²	0.81% a year
18	BugueyCagayan	32,351	202	160.28 km²	0.15% a year
19	IguigCagayan	31,342	287	109.39 km²	1.01% a year
20	Santo NiñoCagayan	29,066	69	423.13 km²	0.44% a year
21	Sanchez MiraCagayan	26,292	120	218.77 km²	0.12% a year
22	CamalaniuganCagayan	25,629	256	100.29 km²	0.37% a year
23	PiatCagayan	25,436	139	182.54 km²	0.60% a year
24	PamplonaCagayan	25,182	120	209.82 km²	0.39% a year
25	RizalCagayan	19,577	59	332.55 km²	0.62% a year
26	Santa TeresitaCagayan	19,476	116	167.27 km²	−0.12% a year
27	CalayanCagayan	18,008	35	508.60 km²	0.81% a year
28	Santa PraxedesCagayan	4,643	51	91.56 km²	1.11% 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.