Also known as: City of Tarlac, Lakanbalen ning Tarlac
Tarlac City is a component city in Tarlac, Region III (Central Luzon). Population 402K (PSA 2024 census), 76 barangays, land area 274.66 km².
Tarlac City is a component city in Tarlac, Region III (Central Luzon).
No. Tarlac City is a component city in Tarlac, Region III (Central Luzon), outside Metro Manila (the National Capital Region).
Tarlac City had 401,892 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.
Tarlac City covers 274.66 km², per the PSA Philippine Statistical Yearbook figure used on this page.
Tarlac City has 76 barangays.
Tarlac City, the provincial capital, sits where three major expressways — SCTEX, TPLEx, and CLLEx — converge, positioning it as a road-transport node along the North Luzon corridor and home to regional retail anchors like SM City Tarlac and Plaza Luisita Mall. The city also carries a genuinely local stake in the Hacienda Luisita land-reform history: of the hacienda's 6,453 hectares across three towns, several barangays, including Asturias, Balete, Bantog, Cutcut, Lourdes, Mapalacsiao, and Central, sit within Tarlac City itself.
Key industries: Regional retail and commercial, Logistics (SCTEX, TPLEx, CLLEx expressway convergence), Agriculture (Hacienda Luisita), Higher education (Tarlac State University)
The city's exposure to the same river system that once carried Mount Pinatubo's lahar became acute in August 2026: persistent habagat rains partially collapsed the Ninoy Aquino Bridge on August 28, with a further section giving way on August 30, while the alternate Agana Bridge collapsed the night of August 29, sweeping a vehicle with five occupants into the river. The provincial board declared a state of calamity on August 30, 2026 over the damage to both bridges, key links from Tarlac City to its western towns. The city's population grew from 385,398 in the 2020 Census to 401,892 in the 2024 Census.
Officials managing Tarlac City's river-crossing infrastructure can compare notes with other Central Luzon cities in the LGU directory. Planning teams evaluating digital compliance tools can explore the pilot program or schedule a consultation.
More on the regulatory framework: CLUP compliance (RA 7160 / EO 72 / DHSUD) · SGLG explainer (RA 11292) · full glossary.
Tarlac City has to manage emergency bridge-collapse response on the same river system that carries decades-old lahar risk, alongside a land-reform history embedded directly in several of its own barangays — a planning picture spanning disaster response, infrastructure, and land records. Nova Gov's platform is built for exactly this kind of cross-department coordination, and the pilot program is designed to help planning offices bring hazard overlays and land-use records into one place.
Two bridges collapsed on the Tarlac River within days of each other in August 2026. See how a founding pilot could line up infrastructure and hazard records to catch the next warning sign sooner.
Explore the Tarlac City pilot →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.
See what we build for urban planners →