The Atlas

Municipalities in Davao 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 Davao Region

Municipalities in Davao Region, at a glance

Municipalities: 43^[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: 2,568,755^[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: 17,288.00 km²^[5]; Each municipality's official area, added up.
Most people: Santo Tomas^[4]; Davao del Norte; 131,100 people
Fewest people: Boston^[4]; Davao Oriental; 15,074 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: Baganga^[5]; Davao Oriental; 939.57 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: Santo Tomas^[5]; Davao del Norte; 583 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: Sulop^[4]; Davao del Sur; 3.23% 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: 7 municipalities^[4]; Of those with 10,000 people or more, the steepest fall: New Bataan, −0.59% 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.

43 municipalities, most people first.

Municipalities in Davao Region, most people
Rank	Name	People, 2024	People per km²	Land area	Growth, 2020–2024
1	Santo TomasDavao del Norte	131,100	583	224.79 km²	0.45% a year
2	MalitaDavao Occidental	118,438	189	628.26 km²	0.05% a year
3	Santa CruzDavao del Sur	104,793	360	290.95 km²	0.86% a year
4	MonkayoDavao de Oro	96,405	146	661.96 km²	0.62% a year
5	PantukanDavao de Oro	91,312	191	476.86 km²	0.14% a year
6	CompostelaDavao de Oro	89,224	226	395.01 km²	−0.18% a year
7	MacoDavao de Oro	87,680	252	348.23 km²	1.25% a year
8	NabunturanDavao de Oro	85,949	318	270.30 km²	0.45% a year
9	CarmenDavao del Norte	85,423	471	181.52 km²	0.98% a year
10	LaakDavao de Oro	83,632	101	831.57 km²	1.15% a year
11	KapalongDavao del Norte	80,731	95	850.23 km²	−0.10% a year
12	Jose Abad SantosDavao Occidental	72,552	105	691.18 km²	−0.27% a year
13	LuponDavao Oriental	68,717	120	573.51 km²	0.62% a year
14	MaragusanDavao de Oro	67,759	81	835.50 km²	1.22% a year
15	BansalanDavao del Sur	64,816	273	237.25 km²	0.78% a year
16	Governor GenerosoDavao Oriental	63,695	168	378.55 km²	1.49% a year
17	AsuncionDavao del Norte	62,929	236	266.22 km²	0.40% a year
18	MatanaoDavao del Sur	62,773	243	258.65 km²	0.89% a year
19	New CorellaDavao del Norte	60,454	242	250.13 km²	1.04% a year
20	BagangaDavao Oriental	59,796	64	939.57 km²	0.44% a year
21	Santa MariaDavao Occidental	58,886	258	228.66 km²	0.56% a year
22	HagonoyDavao del Sur	58,689	494	118.92 km²	0.74% a year
23	MagsaysayDavao del Sur	57,936	294	196.82 km²	0.71% a year
24	KiblawanDavao del Sur	53,757	147	364.70 km²	2.06% a year
25	New BataanDavao de Oro	50,212	91	554.21 km²	−0.59% a year
26	MontevistaDavao de Oro	46,581	163	285.84 km²	0.01% a year
27	BanaybanayDavao Oriental	46,231	196	235.32 km²	0.95% a year
28	Don MarcelinoDavao Occidental	45,681	110	414.02 km²	0.07% a year
29	CateelDavao Oriental	45,623	102	446.05 km²	0.76% a year
30	MabiniDavao de Oro	43,971	97	453.08 km²	0.23% a year
31	MawabDavao de Oro	41,050	283	145.30 km²	0.85% a year
32	MalalagDavao del Sur	40,280	189	212.77 km²	0.07% a year
33	SulopDavao del Sur	40,134	249	161.02 km²	3.23% a year
34	CaragaDavao Oriental	39,630	50	800.15 km²	−0.04% a year
35	ManayDavao Oriental	39,271	65	605.98 km²	−0.18% a year
36	Braulio E. DujaliDavao del Norte	36,092	363	99.39 km²	0.24% a year
37	San IsidroDavao Oriental	35,984	117	307.25 km²	1.61% a year
38	PadadaDavao del Sur	29,888	347	86.03 km²	0.01% a year
39	TalaingodDavao del Norte	28,665	31	925.81 km²	0.28% a year
40	SawataDavao del Norte	27,552	172	160.45 km²	0.28% a year
41	TarragonaDavao Oriental	27,349	79	344.96 km²	0.31% a year
42	SaranganiDavao Occidental	22,041	248	88.96 km²	−0.51% a year
43	BostonDavao Oriental	15,074	33	462.07 km²	0.74% 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.