Cities of the Philippines - Directory, Population & Travel Guide

Local Government Units

Philippine Cities at a Glance

A city is a local government unit with its own charter, headed by an elected mayor and a city council (Sangguniang Panlungsod). Cities are classified as highly urbanized, independent component, or component under the Local Government Code and are tracked by the Philippine Statistics Authority through the Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC). Use the searchable directory below to compare cities by population, land area, and barangay count, then open any entry for its full local guide.

Understanding City Classifications

Cities in the Philippines are classified according to legal status and administrative independence under Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991).

Highly Urbanized Cities (HUC) Independent of provinces; requires at least 200,000 residents and ₱50M regular annual income.

Independent Component Cities (ICC) Cities outside provincial administrative control whose voters do not participate in provincial elections.

Component Cities Cities within a province that remain under the administrative supervision of the provincial government.

Cities Directory

All 147 cities with province, region, class, population, land area, and barangay count.

Showing 147 of 147

City	Province	Region	Class	Population	Barangays
Alaminos City	Pangasinan	Ilocos Region	Component City	100,430	39
Angeles City	Pampanga	Central Luzon	HUC	483,452	33
Antipolo City	Rizal	CALABARZON	HUC	913,712	16
Bacolod City	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	HUC	624,787	61
Bacoor City	Cavite	CALABARZON	Component City	661,381	47
Bago City	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	Component City	192,993	24
Baguio City	Benguet	Cordillera Administrative Region	HUC	368,426	129
Bais City	Negros Oriental	Central Visayas	Component City	88,050	35
Balanga City	Bataan	Central Luzon	Component City	109,931	25
Batangas City	Batangas	CALABARZON	Component City	358,267	105
Bayawan City	Negros Oriental	Central Visayas	Component City	126,744	28
Baybay City	Leyte	Eastern Visayas	Component City	114,708	92
Bayugan City	Agusan del Sur	Caraga	Component City	110,313	43
Bislig City	Surigao del Sur	Caraga	Component City	99,872	24
Bi├▒an City	Laguna	CALABARZON	Component City	584,479	24
Bogo City	Cebu	Central Visayas	Component City	90,187	29
Borongan City	Eastern Samar	Eastern Visayas	Component City	71,431	61
Butuan City	Agusan del Norte	Caraga	HUC	385,530	86
Cabadbaran City	Agusan del Norte	Caraga	Component City	82,343	31
Cabanatuan City	Nueva Ecija	Central Luzon	ICC	343,672	89
Cabuyao City	Laguna	CALABARZON	Component City	365,202	18
Cadiz City	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	Component City	161,558	22
Cagayan de Oro City	Misamis Oriental	Northern Mindanao	HUC	741,617	80
Calamba City	Laguna	CALABARZON	Component City	575,046	54
Calapan City	Oriental Mindoro	MIMAROPA	Component City	148,558	62
Calbayog City	Samar	Eastern Visayas	Component City	187,848	157
Caloocan City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	1,712,945	193
Canlaon City	Negros Oriental	Central Visayas	Component City	62,785	12
Carcar City	Cebu	Central Visayas	Component City	140,308	15
Catbalogan City	Samar	Eastern Visayas	Component City	107,896	57
Cauayan City	Isabela	Cagayan Valley	Component City	143,539	65
Cavite City	Cavite	CALABARZON	ICC	98,673	84
Cebu City	Cebu	Central Visayas	HUC	965,332	80
City of Alaminos	Pangasinan	Ilocos Region	Component City	100,430	N/A
City of Batac	Ilocos Norte	Ilocos Region	Component City	56,781	N/A
City of Candon	Ilocos Sur	Ilocos Region	Component City	61,315	N/A
City of Dagupan	Pangasinan	Ilocos Region	ICC	174,777	N/A
City of Manila	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	1,902,590	451
City of Naga	Camarines Sur	Bicol Region	ICC	N/A	N/A
City of San Carlos	Pangasinan	Ilocos Region	Component City	208,330	N/A
City of San Fernando	La Union	Ilocos Region	Component City	124,809	N/A
City of Talisay	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	Component City	N/A	N/A
City of Tanauan	Batangas	CALABARZON	Component City	N/A	N/A
City of Urdaneta	Pangasinan	Ilocos Region	Component City	145,935	N/A
City of Vigan	Ilocos Sur	Ilocos Region	Component City	54,498	N/A
Cotabato City	Maguindanao del Norte	Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao	ICC	383,383	37
Dagupan City	Pangasinan	Ilocos Region	ICC	174,777	31
Danao City	Cebu	Central Visayas	Component City	161,307	42
Dapitan City	Zamboanga del Norte	Zamboanga Peninsula	Component City	87,699	50
Dasmari├▒as City	Cavite	CALABARZON	Component City	744,511	75
Davao City	Davao del Sur	Davao Region	HUC	1,848,947	182
Digos City	Davao del Sur	Davao Region	Component City	192,063	26
Dipolog City	Zamboanga del Norte	Zamboanga Peninsula	Component City	136,528	21
Dumaguete City	Negros Oriental	Central Visayas	Component City	142,171	30
El Salvador City	Misamis Oriental	Northern Mindanao	Component City	62,126	15
Escalante City	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	Component City	97,050	21
Gapan City	Nueva Ecija	Central Luzon	Component City	129,610	23
General Santos City	South Cotabato	SOCCSKSARGEN	HUC	722,059	26
General Trias City	Cavite	CALABARZON	Component City	482,453	33
Gingoog City	Misamis Oriental	Northern Mindanao	Component City	138,895	79
Guihulngan City	Negros Oriental	Central Visayas	Component City	106,576	33
Himamaylan City	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	Component City	117,286	19
Ilagan City	Isabela	Cagayan Valley	Component City	164,020	91
Iligan City	Lanao del Norte	Northern Mindanao	HUC	368,132	44
Iloilo City	Iloilo	Western Visayas	HUC	473,728	180
Imus City	Cavite	CALABARZON	Component City	481,949	97
Iriga City	Camarines Sur	Bicol Region	Component City	115,306	36
Isabela City	Basilan	Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao	ICC	151,297	N/A
Island Garden City of Samal	Davao del Norte	Davao Region	Component City	119,701	46
Kabankalan City	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	Component City	210,893	32
Kidapawan City	Cotabato	SOCCSKSARGEN	Component City	160,864	40
Koronadal City	South Cotabato	SOCCSKSARGEN	Component City	201,844	27
La Carlota City	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	Component City	67,740	14
Lamitan City	Basilan	Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao	Component City	116,652	45
Laoag City	Ilocos Norte	Ilocos Region	Component City	112,117	80
Lapu-Lapu City	Cebu	Central Visayas	HUC	497,813	30
Las Pi├▒as City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	615,549	20
Legazpi City	Albay	Bicol Region	HUC	210,616	70
Ligao City	Albay	Bicol Region	Component City	119,779	55
Lipa City	Batangas	CALABARZON	Component City	387,392	72
Lucena City	Quezon	CALABARZON	ICC	280,331	33
Maasin City	Southern Leyte	Eastern Visayas	Component City	85,486	N/A
Mabalacat City	Pampanga	Central Luzon	Component City	306,594	27
Makati City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	309,770	23
Malabon City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	389,929	21
Malaybalay City	Bukidnon	Northern Mindanao	Component City	195,046	46
Malolos City	Bulacan	Central Luzon	Component City	269,809	51
Mandaluyong City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	465,902	27
Mandaue City	Cebu	Central Visayas	HUC	364,482	27
Marawi City	Lanao del Sur	Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao	Component City	259,993	101
Marikina City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	471,323	16
Masbate City	Masbate	Bicol Region	Component City	104,011	30
Mati City	Davao Oriental	Davao Region	Component City	148,672	26
Meycauayan City	Bulacan	Central Luzon	Component City	228,023	26
Muntinlupa City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	552,225	9
Naga City	Camarines Sur	Bicol Region	HUC	138,727	55
Navotas City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	252,878	18
Olongapo City	Zambales	Central Luzon	HUC	264,903	17
Ormoc City	Leyte	Eastern Visayas	ICC	238,545	85
Oroquieta City	Misamis Occidental	Northern Mindanao	Component City	71,373	47
Ozamiz City	Misamis Occidental	Northern Mindanao	ICC	143,620	51
Pagadian City	Zamboanga del Sur	Zamboanga Peninsula	Component City	206,483	54
Palayan City	Nueva Ecija	Central Luzon	Component City	47,883	19
Panabo City	Davao del Norte	Davao Region	Component City	211,242	40
Para├▒aque City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	703,245	16
Pasay City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	453,186	201
Pasig City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	853,050	30
Passi City	Iloilo	Western Visayas	Component City	90,313	51
Puerto Princesa City	Romblon	MIMAROPA	HUC	316,384	66
Quezon City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	3,084,270	142
Roxas City	Capiz	Western Visayas	Component City	185,236	N/A
Sagay City	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	Component City	152,543	25
San Carlos City	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	ICC	133,175	104
San Fernando City	Pampanga	Central Luzon	Component City	377,534	94
San Jose City	Nueva Ecija	Central Luzon	ICC	156,714	38
San Jose del Monte City	Bulacan	Central Luzon	Component City	685,688	62
San Juan City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	134,312	21
San Pablo City	Laguna	CALABARZON	Component City	300,166	N/A
San Pedro City	Laguna	CALABARZON	Component City	348,968	27
Santa Rosa City	Laguna	CALABARZON	Component City	430,920	N/A
Santiago City	Isabela	Cagayan Valley	ICC	150,313	N/A
Silay City	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	Component City	136,802	16
Sipalay City	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	Component City	73,847	17
Sorsogon City	Sorsogon	Bicol Region	Component City	187,670	64
Surigao City	Surigao del Norte	Caraga	Component City	177,333	54
Tabaco City	Albay	Bicol Region	Component City	140,779	47
Tabuk City	Kalinga	Cordillera Administrative Region	Component City	122,771	43
Tacloban City	Biliran	Eastern Visayas	HUC	259,353	138
Tacurong City	Sultan Kudarat	SOCCSKSARGEN	Component City	116,945	20
Tagaytay City	Cavite	CALABARZON	Component City	87,811	34
Tagbilaran City	Bohol	Central Visayas	Component City	106,120	15
Taguig City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	1,308,085	38
Tagum City	Davao del Norte	Davao Region	Component City	300,042	23
Talisay City	Cebu	Central Visayas	Component City	263,832	N/A
Tandag City	Surigao del Sur	Caraga	Component City	63,098	21
Tangub City	Misamis Occidental	Northern Mindanao	Component City	68,419	55
Tanjay City	Negros Oriental	Central Visayas	Component City	84,593	24
Tarlac City	Tarlac	Central Luzon	Component City	401,892	76
Tayabas City	Quezon	CALABARZON	Component City	115,318	66
Toledo City	Cebu	Central Visayas	Component City	206,692	38
Trece Martires City	Cavite	CALABARZON	Component City	227,892	13
Tuguegarao City	Cagayan	Cagayan Valley	Component City	167,297	49
Urdaneta City	Pangasinan	Ilocos Region	Component City	145,935	34
Valencia City	Bukidnon	Northern Mindanao	Component City	223,620	N/A
Valenzuela City	National Capital Region	National Capital Region	HUC	725,173	33
Victorias City	Negros Occidental	Western Visayas	Component City	90,290	26
Zamboanga City	Zamboanga Sibugay	Zamboanga Peninsula	HUC	1,018,849	98
No cities match your search.
Total (147 cities)				45,838,038	6,861

Concentration & Rankings

How the top cities compare to the rest. Switch the metric, the ranking depth, or collapse into a single top-versus-rest split.

Data source: azifind (PSA / PSGC)

Statistical Summary

Additional context on how population and barangay counts are distributed across all tracked cities.

Quezon City is the most populous city in the Philippines among the cities tracked here, with 3,084,270 people. It is followed by City of Manila with 1,902,590 people, then Davao City with 1,848,947 people, then Caloocan City with 1,712,945 people, and finally Taguig City with 1,308,085 people.

City of Manila is the city with the most barangays in the Philippines among the cities tracked here, with 451 barangays. It is followed by Pasay City with 201 barangays, then Caloocan City with 193 barangays, then Davao City with 182 barangays, and finally Iloilo City with 180 barangays.

Population

Average per city: 318,320
Median: 181,285
Largest: Quezon City · 3,084,270
Smallest: Palayan City · 47,883
Top 5 share of total: 21.5%
Top 10 share of total: 31.3%

The top 10 cities by population account for 31.3% of the combined population across all tracked cities — moderately concentrated.

Barangay Count

Average per city: 53.6
Median: 38.0
Most barangays: City of Manila · 451
Fewest barangays: Muntinlupa City · 9
Top 5 share of total: 17.6%
Top 10 share of total: 27.4%

The top 10 cities by barangay count account for 27.4% of all barangays among tracked cities — moderately concentrated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cities are there in the Philippines?

The Philippines has 149 cities: 33 highly urbanized cities, 5 independent component cities, and 111 component cities, as classified under the Local Government Code and the Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC).

What is the difference between a city and a municipality?

Both are local government units, but cities have larger populations and income and receive a bigger share of the national tax allotment. Highly urbanized and independent component cities are also administered separately from their surrounding province.

What is the most populous city in the Philippines?

Quezon City is the most populous city in the Philippines, followed by Manila, Davao City, Caloocan, and Cebu City based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing.

What are Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs)?

Highly Urbanized Cities are cities with a minimum population of 200,000 and an annual income of at least ₱50 million (1991 prices). They operate completely independently of provincial government oversight.

What is an Independent Component City (ICC)?

An Independent Component City is a city whose charter prohibits its voters from voting for provincial elective officials. Like HUCs, ICCs are independent of provincial jurisdiction.

What is a Component City?

Component cities are cities located within a province and remain subject to the administrative supervision of the provincial governor and provincial board (Sangguniang Panlalawigan).

Classification and geographic data follow the Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Population figures reference the latest available Census of Population and Housing. Land area and barangay counts are sourced from PSA and azifind directory data. Values shown as N/A are pending in the dataset.