Angeles City, located within the province of Pampanga in the Philippines, is locally classified as a first-class, highly-urbanized city. The city administers itself autonomously from Pampanga and, as of August 2007, it has a population of 314,493.

Angeles is served by the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport inside the Clark Special Economic Zone (formerly Clark Air Base and now renamed Clark Freeport Zone), which is located in the northwestern part of the city. As the former home of the largest United States Air Force base outside of the continental United States, it was significantly affected by the base pullout brought about by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 as the economy of Angeles was heavily dependent on the American base at that time.

Angeles has been dubbed the "Entertainment Capital of Central Luzon." According to the Center for Kapampangan Studies, the dish sisig originated in this city and has been on the menu since the 1730s. Thus Angeles has also become well-known as the culinary center of Pampanga.

Despite the major challenges that were faced by the city, such as the removal of the U.S. Clark Air Base and the Mount Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991, all these have been surpassed by Angeleños. The improvement in the economy of Angeles was said to have been triggered by the transformation of the U.S. base into Clark Freeport Zone, the place where the city’s airport, Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, is located. It is also the home for the city's emerging technology industry. Because it is one of the few cities in the Philippines with an airport, Angeles is visited by foreigners all year round.

SM City, by Clark Freeport's main gate, is the largest chain of shopping malls in the country. In the 2000s, the local government of Angeles and Clark Development Corporation rebranded the Fields Avenue tourist belt as a high-end destination with fine restaurants and luxury hotels and resorts. The finishing of roads, such as the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, has improved trade and transport. The project connects the industrial, transport and business hubs of Pampanga, Zambales, Bataan and Tarlac. The project is crucial to bolstering growth in Central Luzon.

The city has cottage industries producing rattan furniture, coconuts, and charcoal briquettes. It also has many thriving export businesses in handicrafts, metal crafts, toys, houseware and garments. Apart from the Clark Freeport Zone, industrial areas include the Angeles Livelihood Village and the Angeles City Industrial Estate.

Call centers present are e-Telecare, CyberCity, Sutherland and IRMC, plus other American IT industries are major employers as well. The establishment of a number of shopping malls also fueled the city's economy, including SM City-Clark, Robinson's Place, Jenra Grand Mall, Nepo Mall, Saver's Mall and the Ayala Marquee Mall, next to the City Hall.

In 2007, Texas Instruments began work on a $1-billion semiconductor facility inside the Clark Special Economic Zone. There is also a proposal of constructing a new Formula One quality circuit in a 2,000-hectare lot fronting the North Luzon Expressway between Angeles City and Subic Bay, from which the country may soon play host to prestigious international car-racing events and possibly bid to become one of the venues of the world-renown Formula One series.

Historical sites

Fort Stotsenburg, named after Colonel John M. Stotsenburg, a captain of the 6th U.S. Cavalry, was the location of the permanent quarters of the American forces in Sapang Bato, Angeles. It is also known as the "Parade Ground," which served as a venue for many important celebrations by the Americans before the Philippine-American Military Bases Agreement ended in 1991.

Old Pamintuan Residence was served as the seat of government of the First Philippine Republic under General Emilio Aguinaldo from May to July 1899 and the Central Headquarter for Major General Arthur MacArthur, Jr., the father of General Douglas MacArthur. It now houses the Central Bank of the Philippines in Central Luzon.

Founders' Residence (Bale Matua), located at the heart of Santo Rosario, is the oldest building in the city. It was built in 1824 by the city founder, Don Ángel Pantaleón de Miranda, and his wife, Doña Rosalia de Jesus, and was inherited by their only daughter, Doña Juana de Miranda de Henson. This house, which is made of high stone and an ornate gate, nostalgically symbolizes the glorious past of Angeles amidst the overwhelming onslaughts of modernization.

Camalig was built in 1840 by Don Ciriaco de Miranda, the first gobernadorcillo of Angeles, and was used as a grain storehouse along Santo Rosario Street. It was restored in 1980 by Armando L. Nepomuceno and is now the site of Armando's Pizza and the historic Camalig Restaurant.

Post Office Building (Deposito) is a building that was constructed in 1899 for the purpose of depositing religious statues and carriages of the Catholic Church, hence the name Deposito. It was also used as the headquarter of the 11th Film Exchange U.S. Army from 1946 to 1947 and was then used as a jailhouse for recalcitrant U.S. troops during the Philippine-American War. On February 6, 1967, the Angeles City Post Office moved to this building. It is now the site of Angeles Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Center.

Holy Rosary Church (Santo Rosario Church) was constructed from 1877 to 1896 by the "Polo y Servicio" labor system, a kind of forced labor imposed on Filipino peasants by the Spanish colonial government. It was used as a military hospital by the U.S. Army from August 1899 to December 1900. Its backyard was the execution ground to the Spanish forces in shooting down Filipino rebels and suspects.

Holy Family Academy Building was once a convent and was served as a military hospital of the U.S. Army in 1900. It was later used as troop barracks, officers' quarters and arsenal by the Japanese Imperial Military Forces in 1942.

Bale Herencia, built in 1860, is situated in Lakandula Street corner Santo Rosario Street. It is a picturesque house with the unsavory reputation of having been built for the mistress of a parish priest. The current owners now use it as a banquet hall.

Juan D. Nepomuceno's Center for Kapampangan Studies houses a library, museum of archives and gallery, research center and theater, put up by the Holy Angel University in 2002 to preserve, study and promote Kapampangan history and culture.

Lily Hill was a strategic observation post for monitoring Japanese movement in World War II. Remains of Japanese aircraft were found here at the end of the war. Along this hill can now be found Lily Hill Duty Free Store.

Bayanihan Park (formerly Astro Park) is now home to a year-round mini-amusement park and it is an ideal spot for sports and recreational activities having basketball and volleyball courts and huge space for jogging and other recreational activities. This is where the famous and historical "Salakot Arch" is now located.

Salakot Arch is a landmark of Angeles City. From 1902 to 1979, Clark remained a U.S. territory, guaranteed by the Military Bases Agreement in 1947. In 1978, the Philippines, under the dispensation of the former President Ferdinand Marcos, and the U.S. finally agreed to establish Philippine sovereignty over the U.S. bases and thus the Clark Air Base Command (CABCOM) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines came into being, following the signing of a revised Military Bases Agreement on January 7, 1979. To commemorate this unprecedented and bold event, the government constructed a special structure based upon the design of a salakot or native hat, which soon became a widely recognized symbol of this renewed Filipino spirit.

Festivals and local celebrations

Philippine International Hot-Air Balloon Fiesta is held annually between January and February at Clark Field, Angeles City, Pampanga. Considered to be the biggest aviation sports event in the country, it features multicolored hot-air balloons with more than a hundred balloon pilots from around the world.

La Naval Fiesta is held every second Sunday of October in commemoration of the Virgin of the Holy Rosary, whose intercession saw the victory of the Spanish fleet over the Dutch invaders. The city celebrates this fiesta with typical religious programs and homes display the finest traditions of hospitality in entertaining guests with the finest food and drinks.

Tigtigan Terakan keng Dalan (Music and Dancing in the Streets) is held every last Friday and Saturday night of October. It is the biggest street party held each year in the city, which lasts up to the wee hours of the following day. Attended by celebrities and citizens alike, it features music from amateur and OPM bands.

Apu Fiesta (Piyestang Apu) is held on the last Friday of October. Devotees from all over Pampanga flock to the Apu shrine every Friday to venerate the supposedly miraculous image of Jesus Christ lying in the sepulcher. It is also every Friday when people buy household items, clothes and audio-video equipment in a makeshift market called tiangge at bargain prices.

Sisig Festival (Sadsaran Qng Angeles) is also held every year in the month of December, celebrating the Kapampangan dish, sisig. It is now held at SM City-Clark but it was usually celebrated along the stretch of McArthur Highway in Balibago.