Also known as: Caloocan, Lungsod ng Caloocan
Caloocan City is a highly urbanized city in Metro Manila (NCR), National Capital Region (NCR). Population 1.71M (PSA 2024 census), 188 barangays, land area 53.34 km².
Caloocan City is in the National Capital Region (NCR), also called Metro Manila.
Yes. Caloocan City is a highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, officially the National Capital Region (NCR).
Caloocan City is in the Third District of the National Capital Region, also known as the Northern Manila District, together with Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela. The Philippine Statistics Authority groups Metro Manila's cities and its one municipality into four such districts. They are a statistical and administrative grouping, not congressional districts.
Caloocan City had 1,712,945 residents in the 2024 census (PSA 2024 Census of Population (POPCEN 2024), reference date July 1, 2024). That is the most recent official count. There is no 2026 census result, so any 2026 population figure is an estimate.
Caloocan City covers 53.34 km², per the PSA Philippine Statistical Yearbook figure used on this page.
Caloocan City has 188 barangays.
Caloocan is geographically split — North Caloocan (the upland portion bordering Bulacan and Quezon City) and South Caloocan (the original urban core flanking Manila Bay). The CLUP must reconcile rapid informal settlement growth in North Caloocan along the LRT-1 extension corridor with flood-vulnerable older neighborhoods in the south, including Dagat-Dagatan reclaimed area. The MRT-7 and LRT-1 north-extension projects pass through the city and will reshape land values around Sangandaan, Camarin, and Bagumbong — the CLUP must align with TOD (transit-oriented development) principles or risk locking in low-density patterns at premium-transit stations. Coastal subsidence in the southern barangays adds disaster risk; the West Valley Fault clips the eastern edge.
Key industries: Light manufacturing, Wholesale + retail, Transportation + warehousing, Construction
North Caloocan is undergoing rapid transformation driven by the MRT-7 rail project, which will connect the area to Bulacan and central Metro Manila, reshaping land values around stations at Sangandaan, Tala, and Camarin. Meanwhile, the Grotto de Lourdes — a replica of the French pilgrimage site built in the 1950s — remains one of the city's few heritage landmarks, sitting in contrast to the socialized housing developments that define much of North Caloocan's built environment. According to DILG assessments, Caloocan faces one of the most acute socialized housing challenges in NCR, with informal settlement density that complicates every zoning decision the planning office makes.
Caloocan's geographic split between its northern and southern halves creates a planning dynamic unlike any other NCR city — officials need tools that can handle two distinct urban fabrics under a single CLUP. The LGU directory includes neighboring cities like Quezon City and Manila for cross-jurisdictional benchmarking. Caloocan planning officials can explore the pilot program to see how transit-oriented development overlays integrate with Nova Gov's compliance tracking.
More on the regulatory framework: CLUP compliance (RA 7160 / EO 72 / DHSUD) · SGLG explainer (RA 11292) · full glossary.
Caloocan's 188 barangays — second-most among NCR cities — make citizen-report routing especially burdensome. Caloocan's 188 barangays and 30+ city departments are exactly the SLA-escalation coordination load Nova Gov's automated tooling is built to address. The TOD-aligned CLUP overlay tooling fits the LRT-1 + MRT-7 corridor planning need.
North and South Caloocan are different cities under one CLUP — upland MRT-7 settlement growth in one, flood-prone Manila Bay neighbourhoods in the other. In a 30-minute walkthrough on sample data we can show how a pilot could bring both halves and all 188 barangays into a single compliance view.
See the demo (sample data) →We build custom software around CLUP, CDP and zoning work, for LGU planning offices and for the planning firms LGUs hire. Free 30-minute workflow call, then a fixed written quote.
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