The city is the center of business, commerce, and education in northern Luzon, as well as the most populous and seat of government of the Cordillera Administrative Region.

When the Spanish arrived in the Philippines, the area was never fully subjugated by Spain due to the intensive defense tactics of the indigenous Igorots of the Cordilleras.

[15]: 477–478 During Spanish rule in 1846, the Spaniards established a command post or a comandancia in the nearby town of La Trinidad, and organized Benguet into 31 rancherías, one of which was Kafagway, a wide grassy area where the present Burnham Park is situated.

[16] The Spanish presidencia, which was located at Bag-iw at the vicinity of Guisad Valley was later moved to Cariño's house where the current city hall stands.

[citation needed] Camp John Hay was established in October 1903, after President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order setting aside land in Benguet for a military reservation for the United States Army to rest and recuperate from the lowland heat.

[33] Between March 4 and 10, United States Fifth Air Force planes dropped 933 tons of bombs and 1,185 gallons of napalm on Baguio, reducing much of the city to rubble.

[39][40] During his bid to be the first Philippine president to be re-elected for a second term, Ferdinand Marcos launched an unprecedented number of public works projects.

"[51][52] Among the prominent prisoners held at the Baguio City jail were 1967 Miss Philippines–World Maita Gomez who had spoken against the government,[40] and Bulletin Today journalist Isidoro Chammag who had angered Marcos' soldiers by covering the 1983 Beew Massacre in Tubo, Abra.

[39]: 197–198  Camp Henry T. Allen, the original site of the Philippine Military Academy near the Baguio City Hall, was also designated as a detention center during this time.

[39]: 142  Many of these politidal detainees could not afford represenation, so the Baguio Chapter of the Free Legal Assistance Group, headed by Human Rights Lawyer Arthur Galace, was kept busy defending them throughout the Martial law era.

[54] On July 15, 1987, President Corazon Aquino issued Executive Order 220 which created the Cordillera Administrative Region,[56][57] and made the highly urbanized city of Baguio its seat of government.

Mountain peaks on the outskirts of Baguio reach over 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) above sea level, the highest being Mount Santo Tomas in Tuba.

A significant number of Chinese (both Cantonese and Hokkien) and Japanese laborers were also hired to build Kennon Road, many of whom later settled in the city.

[24] Baguio has a large retail industry, with shoppers coming to the city to take advantage of the diversity of competitively priced commercial products on sale.

[110] Various food and retail businesses run by local residents proliferate, forming a key part of Baguio's cultural landscape.

The City Market offers a wide array of locally sourced goods and products, usually from Benguet province,[111][112] which includes colorful woven fabrics and hand-strung beads to primitive wood carvings, cut flowers,[111] strawberries and "Baguio" vegetables.

[citation needed] Another key source of income for Baguio is its position as the economic hub of the Cordillera Administrative Region.

Firms located in the BCEZ mostly produce and export knitted clothing, transistors, small components for vehicles, electronics and computer parts.

The Ayala Technohub located in Camp John Hay hosts Cocentrix and InterContinental Hotels Group alongside other commercial establishments.

In recent years, there has been a surge of ESL (English as a Second Language) Tutorial Schools throughout Baguio that caters to students from other countries and also provide online services.

[125] Baguio is the first city in the Philippines to be part of the inter-city network which aims to promote the creative industries as well as integrate culture in sustainable urban development.

Languages like Ibaloi, Kankanaey, Pangasinan, Cantonese,[127] Hokkien,[127] Japanese,[14] Kapampangan, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Maranao, Maguindanaon and Tausug are also spoken to varying degrees by their respective ethnic communities within the city.

The indigenous people were initially wary with government-led tourism due to a perceived threat that the government would interfere with or change their communities' rituals.

The festivity includes the Gaddang people's courtship dances palakis and the takik and the symbolic beating of the seven gongs to attain peace, unity and cultural heritage preservation.

During the year end holidays some people from the lowlands prefer spending their vacation in Baguio, to experience cold temperatures they rarely have in their home provinces.

[155][156] In recent years, Baguio has been racking up titles and medals in the field of Mixed Martial Arts led by Team Lakay.

Originally constructed in the 1920s, the Asin Mini Hydropower Plants 1, 2 and 3 located in Tuba, Benguet came under the city's possession after the lapse of the 25-year lease agreement with the Aboitiz-owned Hydroelectric Development Corporation (HEDCOR).

[185][186][187] In early 2019, several groups were eyeing to establish a hospital in Barangay Scout Barrio, but was met with opposition; as of March 2019, the project has been shelved.

Its first students were only 25 Igorot boys, including Dr. Jose Cariño and Maximo Carantes, under a United States Armed Forces teacher, Mr. Patrick.

[196] On May 24, 2024, the City Planning, Development, and Sustainability Office stopped the P41.2-million reconstruction project on BCS’ right wing portions of the Gabaldon School Buildings.