Largest city in the Manche department: the 2026 ranking

The 445 towns of the Manche department (50) ranked by population, area and density, based on the official INSEE population figures in force in 2026.

The largest city in the Manche department is Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, with 80,317 inhabitants (ranked 63^rd in France by population). The largest town by area is La Hague (149 km²). The most densely populated is Granville, with 1,328 inhabitants per km². At the other end of the ranking, Taillepied has only 19 inhabitants.

The Manche department has 512,167 inhabitants over 5,951 km², a density of 86 inhabitants per km², close to the national average (110 per km²). It accounts for 15.0% of the population of Normandy, the region it has belonged to since the 2016 reform (formerly Lower Normandy): see the ranking of the largest cities in Normandy.

The 20 largest cities in the Manche department by population

#	Town	Population	km²	per km²	France rank
1	Cherbourg-en-Cotentin	80,317	69	1,172	63^rd
2	Saint-Lô	20,213	23	872	488^th
3	Granville	13,143	9.9	1,328	773^rd
4	La Hague	11,761	149	79	862^nd
5	Avranches	10,669	11	971	975^th
6	Carentan-les-Marais	10,375	133	78	1,014^th
7	Coutances	9,529	13	762	1,124^th
8	Valognes	7,200	16	461	1,532^nd
9	Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët	6,076	47	129	1,852^nd
10	Bricquebec-en-Cotentin	5,981	77	78	1,892^nd
11	Saint-James	5,102	86	59	2,233^rd
12	Agneaux	4,712	6.5	725	2,424^th
13	Saint-Pair-sur-Mer	4,606	14	319	2,482^nd
14	Torigny-les-Villes	4,505	39	115	2,545^th
15	Pontorson	4,365	61	71	2,634^th
16	Condé-sur-Vire	4,271	36	117	2,684^th
17	La Haye	4,136	64	65	2,780^th
18	Villedieu-les-Poêles-Rouffigny	3,972	15	269	2,899^th
19	Bréhal	3,560	13	280	3,254^th
20	Bourgvallées	3,398	48	70	3,392^nd

Largest towns by area in the Manche department

#	Town	Population	km²	per km²	France rank
1	La Hague	11,761	149	79	94^th
2	Carentan-les-Marais	10,375	133	78	125^th
3	Saint-James	5,102	86	59	339^th
4	Bricquebec-en-Cotentin	5,981	77	78	448^th
5	Isigny-le-Buat	3,272	73	45	486^th
6	Cherbourg-en-Cotentin	80,317	69	1,172	566^th
7	Le Teilleul	1,734	67	26	608^th
8	Picauville	3,270	65	50	650^th
9	La Haye	4,136	64	65	677^th
10	Mortain-Bocage	3,130	63	50	709^th

Most densely populated towns in the Manche department

#	Town	Population	km²	per km²	France rank
1	Granville	13,143	9.9	1,328	708^th
2	Cherbourg-en-Cotentin	80,317	69	1,172	816^th
3	Donville-les-Bains	3,216	2.8	1,169	820^th
4	Avranches	10,669	11	971	964^th
5	Barfleur	552	0.6	920	1,027^th
6	Saint-Lô	20,213	23	872	1,094^th
7	Coutances	9,529	13	762	1,245^th
8	Agneaux	4,712	6.5	725	1,298^th
9	Yquelon	1,274	2.1	595	1,567^th
10	Valognes	7,200	16	461	2,003^rd

All towns in the Manche department (445)

INSEE total population in parentheses. Each town page gives its area, density, national and departmental rankings, and neighboring towns.

Other departments in Normandy

Calvados (14) Eure (27) Orne (61) Seine-Maritime (76) All departments

Sources: INSEE, official population figures in force on January 1, 2026 (total population); land area: IGN / Observatoire des territoires. Rankings computed across the 34,858 communes in the database.