Largest city in Occitanie: the 2026 ranking
The largest cities in Occitanie and its 13 departments compared by population, area and density, based on the official INSEE population figures in force in 2026.
The largest city in Occitanie is Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), with 519,940 inhabitants, ranked 4th in France by population, ahead of Montpellier (313,712) and Nîmes (154,017).
Occitanie has 4,446 communes and 6,246,196 inhabitants over 72,724 km², or 9.0% of the French population, with a density of 86 inhabitants per km² (national average: 110). The region was created in 2016 by merging the former regions of Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon. Its most populous department is Haute-Garonne (1,494,734 inhabitants), and its least populous is Lozère (79,964).
Departments of Occitanie
| Department | Towns | Population | km² | per km² | Largest city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haute-Garonne (31) | 586 | 1,494,734 | 6,309 | 237 | Toulouse (519,940) |
| Hérault (34) | 341 | 1,248,501 | 6,101 | 205 | Montpellier (313,712) |
| Gard (30) | 350 | 784,471 | 5,853 | 134 | Nîmes (154,017) |
| Pyrénées-Orientales (66) | 226 | 504,938 | 4,116 | 123 | Perpignan (123,136) |
| Tarn (81) | 314 | 407,233 | 5,758 | 71 | Albi (52,783) |
| Aude (11) | 433 | 387,874 | 6,139 | 63 | Narbonne (58,669) |
| Aveyron (12) | 285 | 289,413 | 8,735 | 33 | Rodez (25,685) |
| Tarn-et-Garonne (82) | 195 | 271,650 | 3,718 | 73 | Montauban (64,523) |
| Hautes-Pyrénées (65) | 469 | 237,032 | 4,464 | 53 | Tarbes (45,361) |
| Gers (32) | 458 | 198,955 | 6,257 | 32 | Auch (23,451) |
| Lot (46) | 312 | 181,747 | 5,217 | 35 | Cahors (20,887) |
| Ariège (09) | 325 | 159,684 | 4,890 | 33 | Pamiers (17,005) |
| Lozère (48) | 152 | 79,964 | 5,167 | 15 | Mende (13,292) |
The 20 largest cities in Occitanie by population
| # | Town | Department | Population | km² | per km² | France rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toulouse | Haute-Garonne (31) | 519,940 | 118 | 4,395 | 4th |
| 2 | Montpellier | Hérault (34) | 313,712 | 57 | 5,515 | 7th |
| 3 | Nîmes | Gard (30) | 154,017 | 162 | 952 | 21st |
| 4 | Perpignan | Pyrénées-Orientales (66) | 123,136 | 68 | 1,809 | 32nd |
| 5 | Béziers | Hérault (34) | 82,629 | 95 | 865 | 60th |
| 6 | Montauban | Tarn-et-Garonne (82) | 64,523 | 135 | 477 | 88th |
| 7 | Narbonne | Aude (11) | 58,669 | 173 | 339 | 104th |
| 8 | Albi | Tarn (81) | 52,783 | 44 | 1,193 | 125th |
| 9 | Carcassonne | Aude (11) | 47,153 | 65 | 725 | 151st |
| 10 | Alès | Gard (30) | 46,632 | 23 | 2,013 | 154th |
| 11 | Sète | Hérault (34) | 45,901 | 24 | 1,896 | 160th |
| 12 | Tarbes | Hautes-Pyrénées (65) | 45,361 | 15 | 2,959 | 164th |
| 13 | Castres | Tarn (81) | 43,800 | 98 | 446 | 176th |
| 14 | Colomiers | Haute-Garonne (31) | 41,337 | 21 | 1,984 | 193rd |
| 15 | Tournefeuille | Haute-Garonne (31) | 30,774 | 18 | 1,694 | 281st |
| 16 | Agde | Hérault (34) | 30,340 | 51 | 597 | 287th |
| 17 | Blagnac | Haute-Garonne (31) | 28,047 | 17 | 1,662 | 316th |
| 18 | Lunel | Hérault (34) | 26,923 | 24 | 1,126 | 338th |
| 19 | Muret | Haute-Garonne (31) | 26,618 | 58 | 460 | 344th |
| 20 | Castelnau-le-Lez | Hérault (34) | 26,449 | 11 | 2,366 | 349th |
Largest towns by area in Occitanie
| # | Town | Department | Population | km² | per km² | France rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gavarnie-Gèdre | Hautes-Pyrénées (65) | 346 | 227 | 2 | 32nd |
| 2 | Sévérac d'Aveyron | Aveyron (12) | 4,146 | 209 | 20 | 37th |
| 3 | Narbonne | Aude (11) | 58,669 | 173 | 339 | 62nd |
| 4 | Millau | Aveyron (12) | 22,678 | 168 | 135 | 65th |
| 5 | Pont de Montvert - Sud Mont Lozère | Lozère (48) | 564 | 167 | 3 | 66th |
| 6 | Mont Lozère et Goulet | Lozère (48) | 1,125 | 166 | 7 | 67th |
| 7 | Auzat | Ariège (09) | 567 | 163 | 3 | 73rd |
| 8 | Nîmes | Gard (30) | 154,017 | 162 | 952 | 74th |
| 9 | Massegros Causses Gorges | Lozère (48) | 963 | 159 | 6 | 78th |
| 10 | Cauterets | Hautes-Pyrénées (65) | 856 | 157 | 5 | 81st |
Most densely populated towns in Occitanie
| # | Town | Department | Population | km² | per km² | France rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montpellier | Hérault (34) | 313,712 | 57 | 5,515 | 121st |
| 2 | Toulouse | Haute-Garonne (31) | 519,940 | 118 | 4,395 | 170th |
| 3 | Tarbes | Hautes-Pyrénées (65) | 45,361 | 15 | 2,959 | 295th |
| 4 | Palavas-les-Flots | Hérault (34) | 6,176 | 2.4 | 2,595 | 348th |
| 5 | Aucamville | Haute-Garonne (31) | 9,715 | 4.0 | 2,453 | 369th |
| 6 | Fonbeauzard | Haute-Garonne (31) | 3,228 | 1.3 | 2,445 | 371st |
| 7 | Ramonville-Saint-Agne | Haute-Garonne (31) | 15,428 | 6.5 | 2,388 | 379th |
| 8 | Castelnau-le-Lez | Hérault (34) | 26,449 | 11 | 2,366 | 382nd |
| 9 | Rodez | Aveyron (12) | 25,685 | 11 | 2,297 | 396th |
| 10 | Villeneuve-Tolosane | Haute-Garonne (31) | 11,167 | 5.1 | 2,198 | 411th |
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 Nouvelle-Aquitaine 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.