It also serves as the regional center and business hub of Northern Mindanao, and part of the growing Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro area, which includes the city of El Salvador, the towns of Opol, Alubijid, Laguindingan, Gitagum, Lugait, Naawan, Initao, Libertad and Manticao at the western side, and the towns of Tagoloan, Villanueva, Jasaan, Claveria and Balingasag at the eastern side.

Cagayan de Oro is located along the north central coast of Mindanao island facing Macajalar Bay and is bordered by the municipalities of Opol to the west, Tagoloan to the east, and the provinces of Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte to the south of the city.

It was the source of controversy when a team from the University of the Philippines-Archaeological Studies Program dismissed the archeological importance of the site by declaring it as a "camp-like area" and not a settlement and thus not worthy of heritage protection under the laws.

In 1622, two Spanish Augustinian Recollect missionaries reached the settlement and described it as being inhabited by a mixed stock descended from highlander Bukidnon Lumad and sea-faring Visayans ("Dumagat").

[15] In 1626, Fray Agustín de San Pedro persuaded the chief of Himologan, Datu Salangsang, to transfer his settlement down the Cagayan River, to the present-day Gaston Park.

The Spanish authorities surrendered to Misamis governor Jose Roa and municipal mayor Toribio Chavez, both appointees of President Emilio Aguinaldo.

On April 7, Gen. Nicolas Capistrano[23] led an attack in the town center, on the garrison of the U.S. 40th Infantry Regiment under Col. Edward Godwin, but were repulsed with heavy losses.

On May 14, the positions of the 1st Company of El Mindanao Battalon in Agusan Hill was attacked by a military unit under Col. Walter Elliot, with 38 members including their commander, Capt.

[22] On June 4, the said battalion, under Col. Apolinar Velez and Lt. Cruz Taal, repulsed the U.S. 35th Regiment during the Battle of Makahambus Hill; marking the Americans' first defeat in the war.

[30] Original settlers were Bukidnons, as well as few Manobos and Moros,[30] who came from barrio Lapasan and town of Cagayan;[31] but the increase of immigrants later resulted in all of the natives leaving the area.

[28] However, due to decrease of population following the evacuation of residents during the war, and the town's short distance from Cagayan,[31] Gusa was reverted to a barrio,[31] being part of Agusan.

[37] During the martial law era, Cagayan de Oro was not spared from military bombings and the usage of brutal mechanisms against dissenters of the Marcos regime.

[40] Cagayan de Oro did not take these human rights abuses of the Marcos dictatorship lightly, and the city came to have a reputation as one of the centers of political opposition in the Philippines.

In 2003, the Heritage Conservation Advocates (HCA) went to the open area of Huluga for a scientific surface investigation and managed to find earthenware, Chinese pottery sherds, obsidian flakes, animal bones, an ancient Spanish coin, and a whale harpoon similar to those being used in Lomblen Island, Indonesia.

[citation needed] On the evening of December 16–17, 2011, Tropical Storm Sendong (international name Washi) caused widespread flash flooding in Northern Mindanao.

[10] About 44% of the household population in Cagayan de Oro classified themselves as ethnically, mixed people, 22.15% as Cebuano, 4.38% as Boholano, while 28.07% as other ethnic groups, including those indigenous people from neighboring towns and provinces such as Higaonon, Subanen and Manobo; Muslim ethnolinguistic groups such as Maranaos, Maguindanaons and Tausugs; and migrants from Luzon and their descendants such as Tagalogs, Kapampangans, Bicolanos, Pangasinans, and Ilocanos as well as Hiligaynons from Western Visayas[55](as of 2000 census).

It is administered by the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, which comprises the three civil provinces of Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, and Camiguin in Northern Mindanao, as well as the entire Caraga region.

Masjid Sharif Alawi in Barangay Balulang is the largest mosque in Northern Mindanao, with over 3,200 square meters in land area, which also includes a madrasa and community center.

Subanen, Binukid, Higaonon, Maguindanaon, Tausug, Hiligaynon, Ilocano and Kapampangan are also spoken to varying degrees by their respective ethnic communities within the city.

[73] Cagayan de Oro is the home of multinational companies, like Del Monte, Nestle, Liwayway Marketing Corporation (goes by a more well-known name, Oishi), Unipace Corporation (a multi-national company carrying the Gaisano Group), Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Inc. (PMFTC), Madison Shopping and Supervalue, Inc. (runs all SM Malls and Savemore Supermarkets and also into heavy manufacturing and distribution).

Business process outsourcing (BPO) in Cagayan de Oro is booming due to ample supply of human capital supported by available health, research, educational, and modern telecommunication facilities.

[77] The annual religious tradition of the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Cagayan de Oro City is held every January 9 by having a procession called "Traslacion" in which hundreds of thousands of devotees participate.

Cine Europa (films) featuring European Union's cultures which include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania were shown at RODELSA.

Mindanao Pride, an emerging social movement that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) rights and welfare in the island's regions.

Cagayan de Oro has local, national, and foreign owned restaurants (Chinese and Korean cuisines), eateries, fast-foods, snack bars, bakeshops, and coffee shops that sprout all over the city.

The $85 million Mindanao International Container Port located in nearby town Tagoloan 17 kilometers (11 mi) from Cagayan de Oro serves the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate.

In 2019, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has granted Original Proponent Status (OPS) to Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. for its unsolicited proposal for the upgrade, expansion, operations, and maintenance of the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental.

The ₱42.7 billion project involves capacity augmentation through expansion or construction of new passenger terminals, installation of required equipment, and enhancement and development of airside facilities.

CEPALCO, which began operations in 1952, covers almost all of Cagayan de Oro and the municipalities of Tagoloan, Villanueva and Jasaan, all in the province of Misamis Oriental, including the 3,000-hectare PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate and caters to more than 100,000 consumers.

[85] Misamis Oriental −1 Rural Electric Service Cooperative (MORESCO-1) whose office is located in Laguindingan covers remote parts of Cagayan de Oro.