City · Western Visayas
Living in Iloilo City.
The regional centre of Western Visayas, 457,626 residents across 180 barangays and 78 sq km. Cheaper than Cebu at the top of the rent ladder, calmer on the road, and materially thinner on international flights, hospital depth and schooling. This page shows both sides.
Last verified 2026-08-16 · Sources listed at the bottom of this page
In short
What to know in 30 seconds.
- MORE Power is the sole distributor for the seven Iloilo City districts, currently ₱14.3490/kWh (July 2026 cycle (+₱0.44)). Surrounding municipalities are on ILECO I/II/III at separate rates — the utility boundary is the city line.
- Water is where the record runs out. MPIW's basic rate is ₱28.67/cu.m, but no source publishes a current minimum bill, so this page publishes none.
- Rent splits in two: Mandurriao and Iloilo Business Park carry almost all foreigner-grade stock, and everywhere else thins fast. A City Proper studio starts around ₱6,000; a Mandurriao 2BR tops out near ₱50,000.
- Four private tertiary hospitals plus the government Western Visayas Medical Center. Specialist consults ran ₱400–1,000 on a January 2026 clinic-fee survey. Complex cardiac, oncology and neurosurgery still route to Cebu or Manila.
- Iloilo International is down to two international destinations, Hong Kong and Singapore, after the 2026 route cuts. Cebu keeps roughly a dozen. This is the largest structural gap between the two cities.
- No school in Iloilo City is listed as an IB World School or a Cambridge International school. If your child is on an IB or A-Level track, that decides the question for Cebu.
At a glance
Verified Jul 2026Electricity
₱14.3490
/kWh · MORE Power · July 2026 cycle (+₱0.44)
Water
₱28.67
/cu.m · MPIW basic rate *
Mandurriao 1BR
₱25,000–32,900
/mo · editorial baseline
Solo (all-in)
₱40–62k
/mo · rent tier dependent
* The MPIW figure is the basic rate per cubic metre, not a monthly bill. A Philippine water bill is built on a minimum charge for the first 10 cu.m. and no source publishes MPIW's current one. See the water section below, and the methodology for how we handle a gap like this.
Water
The number we will not give you.
Every other utility on this page resolves to a figure. Water does not, and the honest thing is to say so on the page rather than quietly fill the hole.
What is published
- ₱28.67/cu.m basic rate, effective March 2026. Tranche 2 of a two-tranche LWUA-approved schedule — the first MIWD increase in six years. The schedule is complete; there is no Tranche 3.
- ₱252.02 for the first 10 cu.m. — but that is the Tranche 1 figure from November 2025, against a ₱25.20/cu.m. rate. It is a historical floor, not your current bill.
- MPIW serves the Iloilo City core plus Maasin, Cabatuan, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, Oton, Pavia and Leganes.
What is not, and why we leave it blank
- No current 0–10 cu.m. minimum exists in any source. Not on MPIW's site, not in the regional press, not at LWUA.
- It cannot be derived either. ₱252.02 against a ₱25.20 rate is not a clean ten-times multiple, so multiplying today's rate by ten invents a charge MPIW has never billed. A figure of that shape was removed from our ledger on 12 July 2026.
- MPIW's own posted “latest approved tariff schedule” is still the 2018 sheet, and the MIWD water-rates page is an empty stub. The ₱28.67 rate reaches the public record only through named secondaries.
- Higher consumption tiers are published only as a stale image. They are deliberately absent from our ledger rather than transcribed.
To close this gap we need one of two things: a photographed post-March-2026 MPIW residential bill, or an MPIW-issued tariff sheet. Until then this page publishes the gap. The ledger carries no current minimum field at all — it is absent, not estimated.
Utilities
What the bills actually run.
Electricity moves every month and is the line that will surprise you. The current MORE Power rate is ₱14.3490/kWh, July 2026 cycle (+₱0.44) (MORE Power official monthly rates, July 2026 cycle, Jul 2026).
Last verified 2026-08-16. MORE Power is the sole distributor for the seven Iloilo City districts only — surrounding municipalities are on ILECO I/II/III at separate rates.
Rent
An editorial baseline, not an index.
Editorial baseline, not a measured index: these are LiveInPH's own estimated ranges. No listing sample has been collected — n is null on all 11 segments, so no median and no p25/p75 exist, and none are published. No listing sample has been collected for Iloilo: nothing was counted and no dated snapshot was retained, so every midpoint below is simply the arithmetic middle of a range. Treat these as a planning prior and check live listings before you commit. The first counted quarter is pending manual collection.
▸ Show the data table
| Segment | Low | Midpoint | High | n | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mandurriao / Iloilo Business Park · Studio | ₱17,000 | ₱22,500 | ₱28,000 | — | low |
| Mandurriao / Iloilo Business Park · 1BR | ₱25,000 | ₱28,950 | ₱32,900 | — | low |
| Mandurriao / Iloilo Business Park · 2BR | ₱35,000 | ₱42,500 | ₱50,000 | — | low |
| Jaro · Studio | ₱8,000 | ₱15,000 | ₱22,000 | — | low |
| Jaro · 1BR | ₱17,000 | ₱21,000 | ₱25,000 | — | low |
| Iloilo City Proper / Downtown · Studio | ₱6,000 | ₱12,000 | ₱18,000 | — | low |
| Iloilo City Proper / Downtown · 1BR | ₱9,000 | ₱12,500 | ₱16,000 | — | low |
| Molo · Studio | ₱8,000 | ₱11,500 | ₱15,000 | — | low |
| Molo · 1BR | ₱12,000 | ₱17,000 | ₱22,000 | — | low |
| La Paz · Studio | ₱8,000 | ₱11,500 | ₱15,000 | — | low |
| Arevalo · Studio | ₱9,000 | ₱12,500 | ₱16,000 | — | low |
Districts
Where to rent.
Iloilo splits in two: Mandurriao and Iloilo Business Park carry almost all the foreigner-grade stock, and everywhere else thins fast into Filipino-landlord apartments, older walk-ups and owner-direct rentals that never reach a portal.
Mandurriao / Iloilo Business Park
Where the foreigners are
Mandurriao / Iloilo Business Park
Where the foreigners are
Megaworld's 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park, built on the former Mandurriao airport, plus Ayala Land's Atria Park District. Almost all foreigner-grade condo stock sits here: One Madison Place, Lafayette Park Square, Saint Honore, Firenze, Avida Towers Atria. Also Festive Walk, the Iloilo Convention Center, SM City Iloilo, Smallville, Western Visayas Medical Center. Mandurriao holds 18 of the city's 180 barangays and functionally low incident rates.
Watch out
Top of the rent ladder by a wide margin, and the 2-months-advance-plus-2-months-deposit norm is steeper than Cebu's 2+1. Megaworld towers add a property-management bond on top.
Jaro
Old money, big lots
Jaro
Old money, big lots
The historic district — Jaro Cathedral, the plaza, ancestral houses on wide streets. Housing skews to Filipino-landlord apartments and owner-direct rentals rather than condos, so much of the supply never reaches Lamudi or DotProperty and lives in Facebook groups instead.
Watch out
The studio band here is the widest in the city because it spans two different markets under one label: cheap walk-ups at the floor and serviced suites at the ceiling. The midpoint describes nothing real.
Iloilo City Proper / Downtown
Walkable, cheapest, loudest
Iloilo City Proper / Downtown
Walkable, cheapest, loudest
Calle Real, the port, the government offices, the two downtown hospitals. The only part of the city where you can live without a vehicle. Older building stock dominates the floor of the range.
Watch out
Pickpocketing along Calle Real at peak hours is the named foreigner-relevant pattern. Same caveat as Jaro on the studio band spanning two markets.
Molo
Quiet residential
Molo
Quiet residential
The "Athens of the Philippines" district, anchored by Molo Church and the plaza. Residential, calm, mid-band rents, and close enough to both Mandurriao and downtown to work as a compromise.
Watch out
Thin listing density. Expect to find the good units through people rather than portals.
La Paz
Market district
La Paz
Market district
La Paz Public Market and the batchoy that the city is known for. Working residential district north of the centre, studio-heavy at the budget end.
Watch out
Pickpocketing at the public market at peak is the named pattern here, alongside motorcycle-snatch risk at jeepney terminals city-wide.
Arevalo
Coastal, furthest out
Arevalo
Coastal, furthest out
Villa Beach, the flower district, and the most spread-out of the six. Suits people who want space and are willing to commute for it.
Watch out
Furthest from Mandurriao employment and the private hospitals. Fiber density thins here first.
Full district-by-district breakdown with commute times, schools and the utility boundary at the city line: Best districts in Iloilo City for foreigners .
Healthcare
Four private tertiary hospitals, plus the government referral centre.
Routine and mid-complexity care is well covered. Specialist consults ran ₱400–1,000 per visit on a January 2026 clinic-fee survey. One hospital publishes a room tariff, dated February 2024 and served behind an expired certificate; none publishes an emergency-room or professional fee. Complex cardiac, oncology and neurosurgical work still routes to Cebu or Manila, which makes it a travel-cost line rather than a treatment-cost line.
Iloilo Mission Hospital
Jaro · Mission Road
Opened 1901, the oldest continuously operating hospital in Western Visayas. Private tertiary, full ER, the default reference point for foreigners in the city.
St. Paul's Hospital Iloilo
City Proper · General Luna St.
Private tertiary in the walkable core. Commonly paired with Iloilo Mission as the two-hospital fallback for anyone living downtown.
The Medical City Iloilo
Mandurriao · near Iloilo Business Park
Newest of the private tertiary set and the closest to the foreigner-grade condo stock. Part of the national TMC network.
Iloilo Doctors' Hospital
City Proper · West Ave.
Private tertiary with a long-standing specialist roster. Rounds out the private options before the government tier.
Western Visayas Medical Center
Mandurriao · Q. Abeto St.
The government tertiary and the regional referral hospital. Cheapest by a wide margin, busiest by a wide margin.
Side by side
Iloilo against Cebu.
Same categories, same ledgers, same timestamps, and the rows where Iloilo loses are in here too. Utility figures read live; rent bands are editorial baselines on both sides.
| Iloilo City | Cebu City | |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity (per kWh) | ₱14.3490 MORE Power | ₱14.96 VECO |
| Water (current minimum bill) | Not published by any source | ₱259.16 MCWD, first 10 cu.m. |
| 1BR, prime district | ₱25,000–32,900 Mandurriao/IBP | ₱30,000–45,000 IT Park |
| Airport passengers, 2025 | 3.1 million, 4th busiest | 11.6 million, 2nd busiest |
| International destinations flying | Two: Hong Kong, Singapore | Roughly a dozen |
| International-curriculum schools | None listed in either directory | IB and Cambridge available |
| Private tertiary hospitals | Four, plus WVMC | Four inside metro Cebu |
| Solo all-in budget | ₱40,000–62,000 | ₱35,000–45,000 modest tier |
Deep dives
Every Iloilo guide, by topic.
Grouped by what you are actually trying to work out. Each one stands on its own — start wherever your question lives.
Start here
The decision and the money
Living here
Districts, safety, arrival
Renting
Lease, deposits, move-in
Utilities and admin
MORE Power · MPIW · fiber · BI
Who it's for
Where Iloilo works, and where it doesn't.
Iloilo works if
- Your rent ceiling matters more than your flight schedule. The top of the Mandurriao band sits well under the top of the Cebu IT Park band.
- You fly internationally twice a year or less, and connecting through Manila or Cebu is acceptable.
- You need no specialist hospital follow-up. Routine and mid-complexity care is well covered here.
- You have no school-age children on an IB or Cambridge track.
- You want a walkable, low-traffic city. Iloilo is materially calmer than Cebu on both counts.
Iloilo doesn't work if
- You fly overseas often. Two international destinations against roughly a dozen is the single biggest gap.
- Your child needs an international curriculum. No Iloilo school is listed as IB or Cambridge.
- You need complex cardiac, oncology or neurosurgical follow-up — that still routes to Cebu or Manila.
- You want a firm monthly water budget before you arrive. Nobody publishes the current minimum bill.
- You want deep listing choice outside one district. Beyond Mandurriao, much of the supply is owner-direct on Facebook and never reaches a portal.
FAQ
Questions readers actually ask.
How much does it cost to live in Iloilo City as a foreigner in 2026?
Roughly ₱40,000–62,000 a month all-in for a single foreigner, depending on rent tier and air-conditioning use. A couple adds 35–40 percent. Almost the entire gap against Cebu sits in one line, rent: a Mandurriao 1BR asks ₱25,000–32,900 against ₱30,000–45,000 in Cebu IT Park. Electricity is close enough to be a wash that flips month to month — MORE Power is ₱14.3490/kWh on the July 2026 cycle (+₱0.44). Groceries are broadly level.
What is the water bill in Iloilo City?
We do not publish one, and that is deliberate. Metro Pacific Iloilo Water's basic rate is ₱28.67/cu.m, effective March 2026 as Tranche 2 of a two-tranche LWUA-approved schedule. But a Philippine water bill is built on a minimum charge for the first 10 cu.m., and no source publishes MPIW's current one. The only minimum ever published is the Tranche 1 figure of ₱252.02 from November 2025, and it is not the current one. It also cannot be derived: ₱252.02 against a ₱25.20 basic rate is not a clean ten-times multiple, so multiplying the current rate by ten produces a number MPIW has never charged. Read your first statement and budget from that.
Which district should a foreigner live in?
Mandurriao, and specifically Iloilo Business Park or Atria Park District, unless budget rules it out. That is where the foreigner-grade condo stock, the BPO floors, the malls, the convention center and Western Visayas Medical Center all sit, and it is functionally low-incidence. Outside Mandurriao the foreigner population thins sharply and the market skews to Filipino-landlord apartments, older walk-ups and owner-direct rentals. Molo is the usual compromise: quieter, mid-band, close to both Mandurriao and downtown. City Proper is cheapest and the only genuinely car-free option.
Is Iloilo City safe?
Yes, by Philippine standards, though nobody can give you a sourced percentage. Police Regional Office 6 reported focus crimes across Western Visayas down 24.49 percent to 225 cases over 22 May to 19 July 2026, and the Iloilo City Police Office arrested 217 wanted persons across 231 operations in the first half of 2026. What no agency publishes is a per-capita index-crime rate for Iloilo against Cebu, so any precise "X percent safer" claim is invented. The real foreigner-relevant risks are motorcycle-snatch at jeepney terminals, pickpocketing at La Paz Public Market and along Calle Real at peak, and bar-bill inflation in Smallville. The UK FCDO names no part of Western Visayas in its travel restrictions.
How is electricity in Iloilo different from Cebu?
Less than most people expect. Across the seven 2026 billing cycles both utilities have published, MORE Power averaged about ₱0.39/kWh below VECO — worth roughly ₱98 on a 250 kWh month. MORE Power is currently ₱14.3490/kWh on the July 2026 cycle (+₱0.44). The more useful distinction is coverage: MORE Power is the sole distributor for the seven Iloilo City districts only. Cross the city line into Pavia, Oton, Leganes or Santa Barbara and you are on ILECO I, II or III at a different rate, which matters if you are looking at suburbs.
Does Iloilo have an international airport with useful routes?
It has an international airport with two international destinations actively flying: Hong Kong and Singapore. Cebu Pacific suspended Iloilo–Bangkok and Iloilo–Singapore through 24 October 2026, keeping thrice-weekly Hong Kong departures, and Scoot's own Iloilo–Singapore service at roughly four times weekly is what keeps the city connected. Iloilo handled 3.1 million passengers in 2025 against Mactan-Cebu's 11.6 million. A CAAP-funded terminal upgrade completed in June 2026 lifted pre-departure capacity from 727 to 1,082 seats. The long-discussed PPP concession has not been awarded, so do not plan around a privatised airport.
Weighing it up
Cebu is the other option.
Denser, better connected, more expensive at the top of the rent ladder, and the only one of the two with international-curriculum schooling. The decision framework runs both cities dimension by dimension.
Methodology
How we build these numbers.
Every price is a range, not a single figure, and every figure on this page is read from a dated ledger at build time rather than typed into the page. Where a number reaches the public record only through a named secondary, we say which one. Where no source publishes it at all, we publish the gap instead of an estimate — the MPIW minimum bill above is the working example. Last verified 2026-08-16.
Primary sources cited on this page
- MORE Power — official monthly rates
- Philippine News Agency — MPIW tranche schedule
- SunStar Iloilo — MPIW rate adjustment
- PSA Regional Statistical Services Office VI
- Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines
- PAGASA — weather and typhoon advisories
- UK FCDO — Philippines travel advice
- LiveInPH — rent baseline: editorial, no listing sample (methodology)
Editorial: LiveInPH. Every figure on this page is logged against a dated source and re-verified on a fixed cadence. The Iloilo rent baseline is the one exception and says so on its own face: it is our editorial estimate, with no listing sample behind it.
The Iloilo datasets behind these numbers
The ledgers this page reads are published as named datasets, each with a permanent page, dated history and a CC BY 4.0 download, so a figure quoted here can be traced back to the row it came from. Listed below is everything the catalog registers for Iloilo, which is not always the same set as the figures shown above.
- Iloilo Electricity Rate Series (MORE Power) as of 2026-07 CSV JSON
- Iloilo Water Tariff (MPIW) as of 2026-03 CSV JSON
The full catalog, including the other cities, is at /data.