Arayat, Pampanga

Arayat, officially the Municipality of Arayat (Kapampangan: Balen ning Arayat; Tagalog: Bayan ng Arayat), is a municipality in the province of Pampanga in the Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 150,949 people.^[5]

Arayat is bordered with Candaba, Mexico, Magalang, Santa Ana, and Cabiao in Nueva Ecija. A large portion of Mount Arayat is located within this municipality.

Arayat is 22 kilometres (14 mi) from San Fernando, 88 kilometres (55 mi) from Manila, and 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from Santa Ana.

Arayat is politically subdivided into 30 barangays, as shown below. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

In the 2024 census, the population of Arayat was 150,949 people,^[12] with a density of 1,100 inhabitants per square kilometre or 2,800 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Arayat

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]}

There are two schools distric offices which govern all educational institutions within the municipality. They oversee the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[21] These are Arayat East Schools District Office, and Arayat West Schools District Office.

• Exact Colleges of Asia

There are many examples of tourist attractions in Arayat. Some examples include the 100 Steps, Mount Arayat Day hike, and the Palm Cabanas Resort. It receives about 33,000 visitors a year, ranging from relatives that come to visit family, to people that want to explore new cultures. Located in Poblacion, there is also the Santa Catalina de Alejandria church. It has features that have close similarities to the Renaissance.

Arayat Pampanga began as a small village that was formed way before the Spanish Colonial Era. While there have been many theories about who and where the town officially started, most locals believe that the city was founded by prince Balatagas of the Madjaphit empire.

During its start, most citizens were farmers. This is how Arayat got most of its tax dollars. Agriculture also still plays an important role in the GDP of Arayat. In 1579, Arayat was considered to be the best Spanish settlements in Pampanga. During the 1600s, Arayat became a fort for Spanish conquest. The first mission was established in 1590 by Fray Juan de Valderama. By the 1850s, however, New Barangays have formed and added up to a total of 11 barangays.

During the 1900s, the amount of Barangays rose from 11 to 23. Jose Alejandrino, Mamerto Natividad helped fend off American colonizers that arrived on December 10, 1942. In the 1930s, however, The former president, Manuel, L. Quezon and Dr Emigido Cruz, decided to make Arayat their second home. They built a farm, chapel, school, hospital, irrigation systems, and homes for the farm helpers. He also brought a group of Japanese experts to teach new farmers.

• Arayat profile at PhilAtlas.com
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System