The foothills of the Cordillera Central mountain range to the east, and the South China Sea to the west are its physical boundaries.

The Austronesian inhabitants of the region called their place samtoy, from sao mi itoy, which literally meant "this is our language.

[citation needed] On June 13, 1572, Salcedo and his men landed in Vigan and then proceeded towards Laoag, Currimao, and Badoc.

In 1807, the sugar cane (basi) brewers of Piddig rose up in arms to protest the government's monopoly of the wine industry.

On June 19, 1965, Laoag changed from municipality to city status, following a plebiscite and passed into law by the Senate President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos.

Mayor Eulalio F. Siazon and Engineer Trinidad Lucas Aurelio were part of a team that led the drive to convert Laoag into a city.

[5] Laoag is located at the west-central part of the Province of Ilocos Norte bordering the South China Sea.

The rest of the existing religions in the city include the Iglesia ni Cristo, and other Protestant groups with a significant number of adherents.Poverty Incidence of Laoag Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Strategically located at the northern tip of the Northwestern Luzon Growth Quadrangle.

It is within hours of air travel to any one of East Asia's economic tigers such as Hong Kong, Mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan by way of the Laoag International Airport.

[citation needed] With a 12,747.35m total land area, Laoag City provides a large opportunity for economic expansion.

The historic scenic tourist spots, availability of internationally competitive accommodations and facilities, and the presence of supportive national government agencies, makes Laoag an ecotourism center, as classified by the Department of Tourism.

The Northwestern Luzon Growth Quadrangle – fondly called the North Quad – also aims to develop rural areas through an integrated countryside agri-industrial development approach with emphasis/focus in attaining sustainable and equitable growth; increase the productivity of agriculture and fisheries; and encourage industrial competitiveness in the local and foreign markets.

Megaworld has also secured 15 billion peso project to be developed in Barangay Calayab along the coast to be called "Ilocandia Coastown," its 34th township.

Following the opening of SM City Laoag these foreign food and convenience stores have established their branches some of which have multiple locations: 7-Eleven = 7, currently; McDonalds = 4; Dunkin = 2; Shakey's = 2; Starbucks = 2; Bonchon; Botejyu; BreadTalk; J.CO Donuts & Coffee; Kenny Rogers Roasters;

Other places of interest include a tour of heritage sites featuring Spanish colonial buildings, baroque churches, La Paz Sand Dunes, white-sand beach resorts of Pagudpud, and Marcos-era mansions.

Built with an Italian Renaissance, the church has an unusual two-story façade, supported by two pairs of columns on each side of the arched entrance architecture design and at the top of the facade holds a recessed niche that showcases the image of the city's patron saint, William of Maleval.

A new immigration policy was made to simplify entry of Chinese tourists into the country by issuing visitor visas at the airport upon arrival to entice more guests to come.

Foreign airlines offer direct charter flights to Laoag as part of travel packages with optional excursions to tourist destinations outside the city.

Several large bus companies serve Laoag City making connections to North and Central Luzon provinces including Metro Manila.

The Laoag bypass linking Paoay on the western part serves as diversion road to long wheeler trucks without crossing the city proper.

Another bypass road east of the city is under construction linking Bacarra and San Nicolas towns will help decongest traffic upon completion.

As the provincial capital, Laoag is the center of social and economic activity with almost all major commercial and institutional establishments gravitating towards it.

The importance of education in socializing its population is shared by both the local government and the private sector, which has invested heavily in the development of the academic infrastructure.

In order to provide continuing education to sustain the economic momentum of the region, the government has established tertiary public learning institutions in the city: the College of Teacher Education (CTE) and the College of Industrial Technology (CIT) of the Mariano Marcos State University.