Largest city in Normandy: the 2026 ranking
The largest cities in Normandy and its 5 departments compared by population, area and density, based on the official INSEE population figures in force in 2026.
The largest city in Normandy is Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), with 168,588 inhabitants, ranked 15th in France by population, ahead of Rouen (119,165) and Caen (111,546).
Normandy has 2,644 communes and 3,415,447 inhabitants over 29,907 km², or 4.9% of the French population, with a density of 114 inhabitants per km² (national average: 110). The region was created in 2016 by merging the former regions of Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy. Its most populous department is Seine-Maritime (1,281,667 inhabitants), and its least populous is Orne (282,417).
Departments of Normandy
| Department | Towns | Population | km² | per km² | Largest city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seine-Maritime (76) | 707 | 1,281,667 | 6,278 | 204 | Le Havre (168,588) |
| Calvados (14) | 526 | 722,979 | 5,534 | 131 | Caen (111,546) |
| Eure (27) | 585 | 616,217 | 6,040 | 102 | Évreux (50,601) |
| Manche (50) | 445 | 512,167 | 5,951 | 86 | Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (80,317) |
| Orne (61) | 381 | 282,417 | 6,103 | 46 | Alençon (26,175) |
The 20 largest cities in Normandy by population
| # | Town | Department | Population | km² | per km² | France rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Havre | Seine-Maritime (76) | 168,588 | 47 | 3,591 | 15th |
| 2 | Rouen | Seine-Maritime (76) | 119,165 | 21 | 5,574 | 35th |
| 3 | Caen | Calvados (14) | 111,546 | 26 | 4,340 | 38th |
| 4 | Cherbourg-en-Cotentin | Manche (50) | 80,317 | 69 | 1,172 | 63rd |
| 5 | Évreux | Eure (27) | 50,601 | 26 | 1,912 | 136th |
| 6 | Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray | Seine-Maritime (76) | 29,760 | 18 | 1,631 | 296th |
| 7 | Sotteville-lès-Rouen | Seine-Maritime (76) | 29,464 | 7.4 | 3,960 | 300th |
| 8 | Dieppe | Seine-Maritime (76) | 28,970 | 12 | 2,482 | 308th |
| 9 | Alençon | Orne (61) | 26,175 | 11 | 2,451 | 350th |
| 10 | Le Grand-Quevilly | Seine-Maritime (76) | 25,999 | 11 | 2,340 | 355th |
| 11 | Vernon | Eure (27) | 25,873 | 35 | 741 | 359th |
| 12 | Hérouville-Saint-Clair | Calvados (14) | 23,672 | 11 | 2,225 | 389th |
| 13 | Le Petit-Quevilly | Seine-Maritime (76) | 22,477 | 4.4 | 5,167 | 417th |
| 14 | Mont-Saint-Aignan | Seine-Maritime (76) | 20,598 | 7.9 | 2,594 | 478th |
| 15 | Saint-Lô | Manche (50) | 20,213 | 23 | 872 | 488th |
| 16 | Lisieux | Calvados (14) | 20,196 | 13 | 1,545 | 489th |
| 17 | Louviers | Eure (27) | 19,093 | 27 | 706 | 517th |
| 18 | Vire Normandie | Calvados (14) | 18,238 | 139 | 132 | 542nd |
| 19 | Fécamp | Seine-Maritime (76) | 17,635 | 15 | 1,170 | 566th |
| 20 | Montivilliers | Seine-Maritime (76) | 15,684 | 19 | 822 | 640th |
Largest towns by area in Normandy
| # | Town | Department | Population | km² | per km² | France rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Souleuvre en Bocage | Calvados (14) | 8,774 | 187 | 47 | 47th |
| 2 | Livarot-Pays-d'Auge | Calvados (14) | 6,311 | 181 | 35 | 52nd |
| 3 | Gouffern en Auge | Orne (61) | 3,710 | 166 | 22 | 68th |
| 4 | Mesnil-en-Ouche | Eure (27) | 4,533 | 165 | 27 | 71st |
| 5 | Valdallière | Calvados (14) | 5,804 | 158 | 37 | 80th |
| 6 | Longny les Villages | Orne (61) | 2,850 | 152 | 19 | 89th |
| 7 | La Hague | Manche (50) | 11,761 | 149 | 79 | 94th |
| 8 | Saint-Pierre-en-Auge | Calvados (14) | 7,458 | 145 | 51 | 100th |
| 9 | Vire Normandie | Calvados (14) | 18,238 | 139 | 132 | 108th |
| 10 | Carentan-les-Marais | Manche (50) | 10,375 | 133 | 78 | 125th |
Most densely populated towns in Normandy
| # | Town | Department | Population | km² | per km² | France rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rouen | Seine-Maritime (76) | 119,165 | 21 | 5,574 | 117th |
| 2 | Le Petit-Quevilly | Seine-Maritime (76) | 22,477 | 4.4 | 5,167 | 133rd |
| 3 | Caen | Calvados (14) | 111,546 | 26 | 4,340 | 176th |
| 4 | Sotteville-lès-Rouen | Seine-Maritime (76) | 29,464 | 7.4 | 3,960 | 200th |
| 5 | Le Havre | Seine-Maritime (76) | 168,588 | 47 | 3,591 | 233rd |
| 6 | Déville-lès-Rouen | Seine-Maritime (76) | 10,902 | 3.2 | 3,450 | 240th |
| 7 | Bihorel | Seine-Maritime (76) | 8,473 | 2.5 | 3,376 | 245th |
| 8 | Sainte-Adresse | Seine-Maritime (76) | 7,186 | 2.3 | 3,180 | 273rd |
| 9 | Caudebec-lès-Elbeuf | Seine-Maritime (76) | 10,549 | 3.7 | 2,867 | 311th |
| 10 | Maromme | Seine-Maritime (76) | 11,038 | 4.0 | 2,753 | 326th |
Other regions of France
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Brittany Centre-Val de Loire Corsica Grand Est Guadeloupe French Guiana Hauts-de-France Île-de-France Réunion Martinique Nouvelle-Aquitaine Occitanie Pays de la Loire Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
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.