[1] Other than the town of Tila, the municipality had 160 localities, the largest of which (with 2010 populations in parentheses) were Petalcingo (6,775), Nueva Esperanza (4,059), and El Limar (2,908), all classified as urban, and Chulum Juárez (2,137), Tocob Leglemal (2,067), Nuevo Limar (1,974), Shoctic (1,717), Usipa (1,450), Cantioc (1,426), Joljá (1,303), Chulum Cárdenas (1,126), Jolsibaquil (1,103), Misija (1,087), and Unión Juárez (1,012), classified as rural.

In 1677 was a parish, and the documents of that time express the abuses of a Catholic priest, Father Cuevas, "a man with racist frustrations", who physically punished the indigenous inhabitants.

In 1920 formal discussions lasting 10 years were undertaken in Mexico City and in Tuxtla Gutierrez to create in Tila the category of ejidos, or communal land.

Since then two main authorities have coexisted in Tila, represented by the Commissioner Ejidal and by the municipal president.

In 2005 there was a conflict between representatives of both authorities that divided Tila politically between ejiditarios (indigenous owners of communal lands) and pobladores (new mestizo people who bought plots of land from former indigenous owners).