Meslay-du-Maine, #1 on this list · Photo: Yzergues (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Mayenne · 2026

Best places to live in Mayenne

Meslay-du-Maine ranks first of 16 ranked towns of 2,500 or more in Mayenne, and #1 of 3,798 French towns. 14 of the 16 grade A− or better; scores run from 84.9 down to 51.7.

The overall score, sorted within the département; the letter compares each town with every French town of 2,500+, and its rank among French towns sits beside it. How grades work

Meslay-du-Maine

2,779 people

A⁺

Score 84.9·#1 of 3,798 French towns

Strongest: schools A⁺, safety A⁺·lowest: jobs & income B

Ernée

5,499 people

A⁺

Score 78.0·#33 of 3,798 French towns

Strongest: schools A⁺, cost of living A·lowest: safety B⁻

Louverné

4,344 people

A⁺

Score 77.2·#40 of 3,798 French towns

Strongest: jobs & income A, safety A·lowest: walkability B⁻

All 16 towns, ranked

By overall score against French towns; ranks are within the département, and each French rank links to the national list.

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16 towns

#TownScoreGrade · French rankWhat drives it

1Meslay-du-Maine2,779 people84.9top 0.1%A⁺#1 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: schools A⁺, safety A⁺·lowest: jobs & income B

2Ernée5,499 people78.0top 0.8%A⁺#33 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: schools A⁺, cost of living A·lowest: safety B⁻

3Louverné4,344 people77.2top 1.0%A⁺#40 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A, safety A·lowest: walkability B⁻

4Bonchamp-lès-Laval6,302 people77.1top 1.1%A⁺#42 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: health A, jobs & income A·lowest: walkability B⁻

5Argentré2,906 people76.5top 1.3%A⁺#51 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁺, health A·lowest: walkability C⁺

6Montsûrs3,192 people75.9top 1.5%A⁺#58 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁺, cost of living A·lowest: walkability B⁻

7Évron8,252 people72.5top 3.3%A⁺#126 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, walkability A⁻·lowest: safety B

8Craon4,431 people72.1top 3.6%A⁺#138 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: schools A⁺, walkability A⁻·lowest: safety B

9L'Huisserie4,672 people70.7top 4.8%A⁺#185 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁺, schools B⁺·lowest: walkability B⁻

10Saint-Berthevin7,479 people70.6top 5.0%A⁺#190 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: health A, jobs & income A·lowest: safety B⁻

11Villaines-la-Juhel2,671 people70.4top 5.0%A⁺#192 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A⁺, walkability A⁻·lowest: jobs & income C⁺

12Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne16,584 people64.2top 12.9%A#490 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, health A⁻·lowest: safety C⁺

13Cossé-le-Vivien3,174 people62.6top 15.5%A⁻#590 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁺, cost of living A·lowest: health C⁻

14Changé6,502 people61.4top 18.0%A⁻#684 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A⁺, health A·lowest: cost of living C⁺

15Mayenne12,883 people55.9top 30.1%B⁺#1,145 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: health A⁻, cost of living A⁻·lowest: safety C⁻

16Laval49,400 people51.7top 42.1%B#1,599 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁺, health B⁺·lowest: safety D

Quick answers

Questions people ask

What is the best place to live in Mayenne?

Meslay-du-Maine ranks first of 16 graded towns of 2,500 or more: schools (A+) and safety (A+) are its strongest grades; jobs & income (B) is its lowest. Ernée and Louverné follow.

How are these towns ranked?

By the overall grade, which blends six graded subjects (cost of living, safety, schools, health, jobs and income, walkability) from public data, each comparing a town with every French town of 1,000 or more. The rank is among the towns of 2,500 or more in Mayenne, where five or more have an overall grade.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

The list covers places of 2,500 or more with an overall grade. Smaller places, and towns missing figures the overall grade needs, show their grades on their own pages; every commune is listed on the Mayenne page.

Photos: Meslay-du-Maine, Yzergues (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Ernée, ColinMcB (CC0) · Louverné, Jejecam (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, run #57 of November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).

Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.