The Atlas

Municipalities in Central Visayas

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 Central Visayas

Municipalities in Central Visayas, at a glance

Municipalities: 91^[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: 3,706,075^[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: 7,869.66 km²^[5]; Each municipality's official area, added up.
Most people: Liloan^[4]; Cebu; 158,387 people
Fewest people: Sikatuna^[4]; Bohol; 7,031 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: Ubay^[5]; Bohol; 264.01 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: Cordova^[5]; Cebu; 7,627 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: Trinidad^[4]; Bohol; 1.38% 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: 11 municipalities^[4]; Of those with 10,000 people or more, the steepest fall: Lila, −1.59% a year.

Island group: All

Region: Central Visayas

Province: All

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.

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

Municipalities in Central Visayas, most people
Rank	Name	People, 2024	People per km²	Land area	Growth, 2020–2024
1	LiloanCebu	158,387	3,736	42.39 km²	0.80% a year
2	MinglanillaCebu	155,934	3,028	51.50 km²	0.77% a year
3	ConsolacionCebu	153,931	3,947	39.00 km²	0.94% a year
4	BalambanCebu	98,170	454	216.45 km²	0.76% a year
5	DaanbantayanCebu	95,080	1,019	93.27 km²	0.40% a year
6	BantayanCebu	87,394	1,080	80.92 km²	0.32% a year
7	BariliCebu	82,427	680	121.21 km²	0.50% a year
8	UbayBohol	82,179	311	264.01 km²	0.11% a year
9	ArgaoCebu	78,111	396	197.02 km²	−0.02% a year
10	PinamungajanCebu	76,568	699	109.55 km²	0.46% a year
11	San FernandoCebu	76,110	878	86.66 km²	1.26% a year
12	DalagueteCebu	75,937	465	163.22 km²	0.43% a year
13	CordovaCebu	72,915	7,627	9.56 km²	0.78% a year
14	TalibonBohol	71,450	497	143.77 km²	0.06% a year
15	TuburanCebu	68,307	277	246.16 km²	0.05% a year
16	San RemigioCebu	67,850	810	83.77 km²	0.76% a year
17	MedellinCebu	62,163	819	75.94 km²	1.01% a year
18	San FranciscoCebu	61,092	644	94.82 km²	0.74% a year
19	CarmenCebu	60,230	699	86.17 km²	0.95% a year
20	DumanjugCebu	59,954	702	85.35 km²	0.87% a year
21	CompostelaCebu	58,178	1,202	48.39 km²	0.97% a year
22	AsturiasCebu	54,777	359	152.55 km²	−0.27% a year
23	SibongaCebu	54,610	566	96.47 km²	0.53% a year
24	DauisBohol	53,864	1,266	42.53 km²	0.62% a year
25	CarmenBohol	50,249	231	217.28 km²	0.51% a year
26	TubigonBohol	49,275	804	61.32 km²	0.69% a year
27	InabangaBohol	49,133	419	117.18 km²	0.29% a year
28	BadianCebu	44,626	418	106.74 km²	0.48% a year
29	LoonBohol	43,857	434	100.98 km²	−0.20% a year
30	MadridejosCebu	42,828	1,753	24.43 km²	0.45% a year
31	TabogonCebu	42,066	469	89.76 km²	0.36% a year
32	PanglaoBohol	41,760	874	47.78 km²	1.14% a year
33	SogodCebu	40,746	365	111.78 km²	0.78% a year
34	BorbonCebu	40,097	459	87.37 km²	1.18% a year
35	MoalboalCebu	37,993	536	70.85 km²	0.68% a year
36	TrinidadBohol	37,191	264	141.05 km²	1.38% a year
37	JagnaBohol	36,674	385	95.38 km²	0.56% a year
38	AloguinsanCebu	34,990	569	61.48 km²	0.36% a year
39	Santa FeCebu	34,834	4,976	7.00 km²	0.25% a year
40	GuindulmanBohol	34,660	409	84.67 km²	0.39% a year
41	CatmonCebu	34,608	316	109.64 km²	0.61% a year
42	GetafeBohol	33,485	349	95.83 km²	0.05% a year
43	CalapeBohol	33,022	391	84.55 km²	−0.04% a year
44	BuenavistaBohol	31,095	297	104.66 km²	1.10% a year
45	CandijayBohol	30,142	287	105.11 km²	0.02% a year
46	TabuelanCebu	29,662	319	92.89 km²	0.62% a year
47	OslobCebu	29,378	267	109.92 km²	0.09% a year
48	PilarBohol	28,860	241	119.84 km²	0.14% a year
49	ValenciaBohol	28,535	257	111.21 km²	0.12% a year
50	MabiniBohol	28,224	270	104.57 km²	−0.40% 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.