Which city proper in the Philippines has the largest population?

Quezon City is the Philippine city proper with the largest population.

The 2020 Philippine Census of Population and Housing counted 2,960,048 residents in Quezon City, making it the country’s most populous city. It ranked ahead of Manila, with 1,846,513 people, and Caloocan, with 1,661,584. The comparison uses legally defined city boundaries rather than the population of the entire Metro Manila urban region.

Quezon City was founded in 1939 and served as the national capital from 1948 until 1976, when the capital was returned to Manila. It remains a major administrative, educational, residential, and commercial centre, containing institutions such as the University of the Philippines Diliman and many national government offices.

The name can cause confusion because Quezon City is not the same place as Quezon Province, which is a separate administrative area. Manila is also often assumed to be largest because it is the national capital and the historic core of the metropolis, but its much smaller municipal area gives it fewer residents than Quezon City.