Largest city in the Sarthe department: the 2026 ranking

The 352 towns of the Sarthe department (72) ranked by population, area and density, based on the official INSEE population figures in force in 2026.

The largest city in the Sarthe department is Le Mans, with 148,876 inhabitants (ranked 24^th in France by population). The largest town by area is Villeneuve-en-Perseigne (87 km²). Le Mans is also the most densely populated town, with 2,819 inhabitants per km². At the other end of the ranking, Nauvay has only 12 inhabitants.

The Sarthe department has 579,227 inhabitants over 6,206 km², a density of 93 inhabitants per km², close to the national average (110 per km²). It accounts for 14.5% of the population of Pays de la Loire, the region it belongs to: see the ranking of the largest cities in Pays de la Loire.

The 20 largest cities in the Sarthe department by population

#	Town	Population	km²	per km²	France rank
1	Le Mans	148,876	53	2,819	24^th
2	La Flèche	15,884	74	214	630^th
3	Sablé-sur-Sarthe	12,850	37	348	787^th
4	Allonnes	10,846	18	600	956^th
5	La Ferté-Bernard	8,981	15	600	1,192^nd
6	Coulaines	8,226	3.9	2,093	1,324^th
7	Changé	7,070	35	202	1,558^th
8	Montval-sur-Loir	5,827	27	216	1,963^rd
9	Arnage	5,548	11	516	2,061^st
10	Parigné-l'Évêque	5,454	63	86	2,097^th
11	Mulsanne	5,352	15	351	2,129^th
12	Mamers	5,150	5.1	1,020	2,218^th
13	Écommoy	4,957	29	174	2,301^st
14	La Suze-sur-Sarthe	4,747	21	222	2,414^th
15	Laigné-Saint-Gervais	4,337	22	195	2,647^th
16	Yvré-l'Évêque	4,269	28	155	2,689^th
17	Savigné-l'Évêque	4,102	28	144	2,805^th
18	Le Lude	4,036	68	59	2,863^rd
19	Sargé-lès-le-Mans	3,941	14	285	2,931^st
20	La Bazoge	3,878	23	170	2,986^th

Largest towns by area in the Sarthe department

#	Town	Population	km²	per km²	France rank
1	Villeneuve-en-Perseigne	2,210	87	25	333^rd
2	La Flèche	15,884	74	214	470^th
3	Le Lude	4,036	68	59	569^th
4	Loir en Vallée	2,115	65	33	657^th
5	Parigné-l'Évêque	5,454	63	86	684^th
6	Précigné	3,016	58	52	834^th
7	Mayet	3,231	54	60	966^th
8	Le Mans	148,876	53	2,819	1,031^st
9	Luché-Pringé	1,563	49	32	1,219^th
10	Auvers-le-Hamon	1,466	48	31	1,314^th

Most densely populated towns in the Sarthe department

#	Town	Population	km²	per km²	France rank
1	Le Mans	148,876	53	2,819	318^th
2	Coulaines	8,226	3.9	2,093	430^th
3	Mamers	5,150	5.1	1,020	923^rd
4	Bourg-le-Roi	335	0.4	931	1,014^th
5	La Ferté-Bernard	8,981	15	600	1,558^th
6	Allonnes	10,846	18	600	1,560^th
7	Arnage	5,548	11	516	1,801^st
8	Saint-Pavace	2,055	5.2	398	2,273^rd
9	La Chapelle-Saint-Aubin	2,319	5.9	391	2,304^th
10	Mulsanne	5,352	15	351	2,569^th

All towns in the Sarthe department (352)

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

Other departments in Pays de la Loire

Loire-Atlantique (44) Maine-et-Loire (49) Mayenne (53) Vendée (85) 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.