[4] During the pre-Spanish era, the area of Candelaria was unsettled forest.

The Spanish East Indies government made it a sitio of Masinloc, one of the oldest towns of Zambales.

Sambal settlers from other parts of Masinloc, who found Candelaria an ideal location to live, played an important role in creating Candelaria as a separate town in 1870.

It is nestled at the foot of the Zambales Mountains in the east and lies along coastline of the South China Sea in the west, with a total land area of 33,359 hectares (82,430 acres), making it the third-largest town in terms of land area in Zambales.

Poverty incidence of Candelaria Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]