Largest city in Nouvelle-Aquitaine: the 2026 ranking
The largest cities in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and its 12 departments compared by population, area and density, based on the official INSEE population figures in force in 2026.
The largest city in Nouvelle-Aquitaine is Bordeaux (Gironde), with 271,552 inhabitants, ranked 9th in France by population, ahead of Limoges (131,817) and Poitiers (92,187).
Nouvelle-Aquitaine has 4,293 communes and 6,288,233 inhabitants over 84,006 km², or 9.1% of the French population, with a density of 75 inhabitants per km² (national average: 110). The region was created in 2016 by merging the former regions of Poitou-Charentes, Limousin and Aquitaine. Its most populous department is Gironde (1,716,986 inhabitants), and its least populous is Creuse (118,760).
Departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
| Department | Towns | Population | km² | per km² | Largest city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gironde (33) | 534 | 1,716,986 | 9,976 | 172 | Bordeaux (271,552) |
| Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) | 545 | 725,655 | 7,645 | 95 | Pau (81,891) |
| Charente-Maritime (17) | 462 | 688,067 | 6,864 | 100 | La Rochelle (81,843) |
| Vienne (86) | 265 | 449,082 | 6,990 | 64 | Poitiers (92,187) |
| Landes (40) | 327 | 445,828 | 9,243 | 48 | Mont-de-Marsan (32,981) |
| Dordogne (24) | 503 | 427,558 | 9,047 | 47 | Périgueux (30,496) |
| Deux-Sèvres (79) | 252 | 385,771 | 5,999 | 64 | Niort (61,675) |
| Haute-Vienne (87) | 195 | 379,464 | 5,520 | 69 | Limoges (131,817) |
| Charente (16) | 359 | 361,286 | 5,951 | 61 | Angoulême (43,454) |
| Lot-et-Garonne (47) | 319 | 341,487 | 5,361 | 64 | Agen (33,656) |
| Corrèze (19) | 277 | 248,289 | 5,845 | 42 | Brive-la-Gaillarde (48,330) |
| Creuse (23) | 255 | 118,760 | 5,565 | 21 | Guéret (13,584) |
The 20 largest cities in Nouvelle-Aquitaine by population
| # | Town | Department | Population | km² | per km² | France rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bordeaux | Gironde (33) | 271,552 | 49 | 5,501 | 9th |
| 2 | Limoges | Haute-Vienne (87) | 131,817 | 78 | 1,689 | 30th |
| 3 | Poitiers | Vienne (86) | 92,187 | 42 | 2,189 | 50th |
| 4 | Pau | Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) | 81,891 | 32 | 2,599 | 61st |
| 5 | La Rochelle | Charente-Maritime (17) | 81,843 | 28 | 2,879 | 62nd |
| 6 | Mérignac | Gironde (33) | 78,946 | 48 | 1,639 | 64th |
| 7 | Pessac | Gironde (33) | 68,102 | 39 | 1,754 | 78th |
| 8 | Niort | Deux-Sèvres (79) | 61,675 | 68 | 904 | 95th |
| 9 | Bayonne | Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) | 55,590 | 22 | 2,564 | 114th |
| 10 | Brive-la-Gaillarde | Corrèze (19) | 48,330 | 49 | 995 | 143rd |
| 11 | Talence | Gironde (33) | 47,340 | 8.4 | 5,669 | 149th |
| 12 | Anglet | Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) | 44,406 | 27 | 1,649 | 169th |
| 13 | Angoulême | Charente (16) | 43,454 | 22 | 1,989 | 179th |
| 14 | Villenave-d'Ornon | Gironde (33) | 42,858 | 21 | 2,016 | 183rd |
| 15 | Agen | Lot-et-Garonne (47) | 33,656 | 11 | 2,929 | 249th |
| 16 | Saint-Médard-en-Jalles | Gironde (33) | 33,398 | 85 | 392 | 250th |
| 17 | Mont-de-Marsan | Landes (40) | 32,981 | 37 | 894 | 255th |
| 18 | Bègles | Gironde (33) | 32,221 | 10.0 | 3,235 | 262nd |
| 19 | Châtellerault | Vienne (86) | 31,656 | 52 | 610 | 269th |
| 20 | Périgueux | Dordogne (24) | 30,496 | 9.8 | 3,106 | 284th |
Largest towns by area in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
| # | Town | Department | Population | km² | per km² | France rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laruns | Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) | 1,196 | 249 | 5 | 25th |
| 2 | Lacanau | Gironde (33) | 5,853 | 214 | 27 | 35th |
| 3 | Hourtin | Gironde (33) | 4,124 | 191 | 22 | 44th |
| 4 | Bressuire | Deux-Sèvres (79) | 21,034 | 181 | 116 | 53rd |
| 5 | La Teste-de-Buch | Gironde (33) | 27,909 | 180 | 155 | 54th |
| 6 | Carcans | Gironde (33) | 2,453 | 175 | 14 | 60th |
| 7 | Biscarrosse | Landes (40) | 16,203 | 160 | 101 | 75th |
| 8 | Sabres | Landes (40) | 1,353 | 160 | 8 | 76th |
| 9 | Luxey | Landes (40) | 665 | 160 | 4 | 77th |
| 10 | Belin-Béliet | Gironde (33) | 6,386 | 156 | 41 | 83rd |
Most densely populated towns in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
| # | Town | Department | Population | km² | per km² | France rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talence | Gironde (33) | 47,340 | 8.4 | 5,669 | 114th |
| 2 | Bordeaux | Gironde (33) | 271,552 | 49 | 5,501 | 122nd |
| 3 | Sainte-Foy-la-Grande | Gironde (33) | 2,518 | 0.5 | 4,937 | 143rd |
| 4 | Cenon | Gironde (33) | 27,065 | 5.5 | 4,903 | 147th |
| 5 | Le Bouscat | Gironde (33) | 25,441 | 5.3 | 4,818 | 149th |
| 6 | Lormont | Gironde (33) | 26,158 | 7.4 | 3,554 | 235th |
| 7 | Bègles | Gironde (33) | 32,221 | 10.0 | 3,235 | 262nd |
| 8 | Billère | Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) | 14,645 | 4.6 | 3,205 | 266th |
| 9 | Périgueux | Dordogne (24) | 30,496 | 9.8 | 3,106 | 276th |
| 10 | Agen | Lot-et-Garonne (47) | 33,656 | 11 | 2,929 | 300th |
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 Normandy 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.