What is the best-known city in Hauts-de-France?

Lille, at 279,190, ahead of Amiens (195,282).

What is the least-known city in Hauts-de-France?

Bruay-sur-l'Escaut, at 5,321. 103 cities of Hauts-de-France are measured here.

Where does Lille stand in France?

15 of the 1,131 French cities measured on popularity. The national ranking is on its own page.

Which cities lead in Hauts-de-France?

Lille (279,190), Amiens (195,282), Lens (189,958), Roubaix (170,636), Dunkerque (155,697). The whole table is on this page.

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The best-known cities in Hauts-de-France

Lille is the best-known city in Hauts-de-France, at 279,190, ahead of Amiens (195,282) and Lens (189,958). At the other end, Bruay-sur-l'Escaut is the least-known city, at 5,321.

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The top 100 of the 103 cities of Hauts-de-France on popularity
Rank	City	Popularity	Population
1	59 Lille	279,190	238,246
2	80 Amiens	195,282	136,449
3	62 Lens	189,958	32,920
4	59 Roubaix	170,636	98,286
5	59 Dunkerque	155,697	86,263
6	62 Arras	137,723	42,875
7	62 Boulogne-sur-Mer	127,014	40,539
8	59 Valenciennes	122,329	43,468
9	60 Compiègne	121,068	40,761
10	02 Saint-Quentin	114,318	52,813
11	60 Beauvais	111,035	55,550
12	62 Le Touquet-Paris-Plage	109,007	4,224
13	02 Soissons	97,716	28,046
14	02 Laon	96,783	24,220
15	59 Douai	91,785	40,250
16	60 Senlis	87,833	15,157
17	59 Cambrai	78,729	31,134
18	60 Creil	78,083	36,301
19	59 Saint-Amand-les-Eaux	75,290	15,974
20	62 Hénin-Beaumont	75,043	25,688
21	62 Calais	72,612	67,571
22	59 Tourcoing	70,479	98,772
23	02 Villers-Cotterêts	70,458	10,489
24	02 Château-Thierry	67,906	15,097
25	59 Villeneuve-d'Ascq	64,944	62,868
26	62 Saint-Omer	64,311	14,382
27	60 Chantilly	63,891	10,591
28	59 Maubeuge	62,580	28,767
29	80 Abbeville	61,279	22,395
30	62 Béthune	60,941	25,224
31	62 Berck	59,274	12,951
32	62 Montreuil-sur-Mer	49,438	1,912
33	62 Liévin	45,665	30,063
34	59 Gravelines	42,035	11,430
35	59 Hazebrouck	41,611	21,912
36	60 Noyon	41,268	12,971
37	80 Saint-Valery-sur-Somme	38,758	2,306
38	59 Armentières	36,754	26,998
39	59 Croix	34,081	20,566
40	60 Crépy-en-Valois	33,623	14,351
41	59 Marcq-en-Barœul	33,525	40,184
42	59 Denain	29,813	20,665
43	59 Fourmies	29,150	11,449
44	62 Bruay-la-Buissière	27,150	21,424
45	60 Clermont	23,557	10,564
46	59 Bailleul	22,718	14,732
47	59 Saint-Saulve	21,896	10,947
48	59 Wasquehal	21,857	20,726
49	02 Chauny	21,807	11,596
50	59 Lambersart	21,486	27,090
51	59 Caudry	20,746	13,833
52	59 Faches-Thumesnil	20,478	18,619
53	59 Seclin	18,423	13,261
54	60 Méru	18,400	13,897
55	59 Somain	18,230	11,766
56	59 Wattrelos	18,004	40,847
57	59 La Madeleine	17,579	21,790
58	59 Grande-Synthe	17,486	20,239
59	62 Avion	17,454	17,435
60	62 Étaples	16,479	10,710
61	60 Pont-Sainte-Maxence	16,335	12,361
62	62 Harnes	16,072	12,247
63	60 Nogent-sur-Oise	16,010	21,907
64	59 Wambrechies	15,516	11,012
65	59 Comines	15,369	12,731
66	62 Carvin	15,060	17,909
67	59 Loos	15,000	22,567
68	59 Roncq	14,539	14,075
69	62 Courrières	14,088	10,176
70	59 Hem	14,077	18,582
71	62 Outreau	13,948	13,138
72	59 Mons-en-Barœul	13,635	21,105
73	59 Jeumont	13,320	10,160
74	59 Coudekerque-Branche	13,219	20,787
75	62 Nœux-les-Mines	13,178	11,590
76	02 Tergnier	13,072	13,045
77	62 Lillers	12,859	10,193
78	62 Auchel	12,823	10,051
79	62 Oignies	12,731	10,323
80	59 Ronchin	12,084	19,787
81	59 Halluin	11,943	20,715
82	59 Anzin	11,705	13,183
83	59 Saint-André-lez-Lille	11,692	13,233
84	59 Raismes	11,334	12,199
85	60 Montataire	11,101	14,257
86	62 Saint-Martin-Boulogne	10,906	10,888
87	59 Hautmont	10,649	14,152
88	59 Wattignies	9,957	15,525
89	59 Marly (59)	9,437	11,995
90	62 Bully-les-Mines	9,383	12,146
91	59 Sin-le-Noble	9,232	16,076
92	59 Mouvaux	9,086	13,369
93	59 Haubourdin	8,886	15,074
94	59 Annœullin	8,861	10,847
95	62 Méricourt	8,136	11,619
96	62 Marck	8,103	10,467
97	59 Marquette-lez-Lille	8,039	12,622
98	59 Neuville-en-Ferrain	7,919	10,002
99	59 Vieux-Condé	7,391	10,617
100	59 Douchy-les-Mines	7,039	10,109

Every city of Hauts-de-France →

The same ranking for the whole of France : The best-known cities in France on Wikipedia · The least-known cities in France on Wikipedia

The best-known cities in, elsewhere

The other rankings of Hauts-de-France

Scope, method and sources

Scope: France, metropolitan and overseas, Corsica and the DROM included. This dataset holds every commune of 10,000 inhabitants or more, plus smaller communes famous enough to be household names, 1,131 in all. It is not the full list of 35,000 French communes, so a village can sit outside a ranking whose extreme it would otherwise hold.

Method and sources: populations are the INSEE legal populations, boundaries and coordinates come from the IGN commune registry, both served by geo.api.gouv.fr. Density is the population divided by the commune's area; distances are measured as the crow flies from the commune's centre. Data read on August 28, 2026.

4 questions about this ranking

What is the best-known city in Hauts-de-France?: Lille, at 279,190, ahead of Amiens (195,282).
What is the least-known city in Hauts-de-France?: Bruay-sur-l'Escaut, at 5,321. 103 cities of Hauts-de-France are measured here.
Where does Lille stand in France?: 15 of the 1,131 French cities measured on popularity. The national ranking is on its own page.
Which cities lead in Hauts-de-France?: Lille (279,190), Amiens (195,282), Lens (189,958), Roubaix (170,636), Dunkerque (155,697). The whole table is on this page.