#1La Bazoge
3,796 peopleScore 80.5·#15 of 3,798 French towns
Strongest: safety A+, jobs & income A·lowest: walkability C+
La Bazoge, #1 on this list · Photo: Stephvvv (CC BY-SA 3.0)Sarthe · 2026
Best places to live in Sarthe
La Bazoge ranks first of 31 ranked towns of 2,500 or more in Sarthe, and #15 of 3,798 French towns. 15 of the 31 grade A− or better; scores run from 80.5 down to 41.6.
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
#1A+
#2La Suze-sur-Sarthe
4,693 peopleScore 79.9·#18 of 3,798 French towns
Strongest: schools A+, health A·lowest: walkability B
#3Parigné-l'Évêque
5,358 peopleScore 78.5·#28 of 3,798 French towns
Strongest: schools A, safety A·lowest: walkability C−
All 31 towns, ranked
By overall score against French towns; ranks are within the département, and each French rank links to the national list.
31 towns
#TownScoreGrade · French rankWhat drives it
1La Bazoge3,796 people80.5top 0.4%A+#15 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A+, jobs & income A·lowest: walkability C+
2La Suze-sur-Sarthe4,693 people79.9top 0.4%A+#18 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: schools A+, health A·lowest: walkability B
3Parigné-l'Évêque5,358 people78.5top 0.7%A+#28 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: schools A, safety A·lowest: walkability C−
4Noyen-sur-Sarthe2,556 people77.5top 0.9%A+#34 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: health A+, cost of living A·lowest: jobs & income B−
5Savigné-l'Évêque4,031 people71.4top 4.0%A+#154 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A, jobs & income A−·lowest: walkability C
6Précigné2,877 people70.9top 4.6%A+#176 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A, cost of living B+·lowest: health B−
7Sargé-lès-le-Mans3,851 people66.5top 9.3%A#354 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A, health A·lowest: cost of living B−
8Mulsanne5,244 people66.1top 10.0%A#380 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: schools A, health B+·lowest: jobs & income B−
9Mayet3,187 people66.0top 10.1%A#383 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: schools A+, safety A·lowest: health D
10Bonnétable3,703 people64.5top 12.4%A#471 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, health A−·lowest: jobs & income C
11Champagné3,666 people63.6top 13.8%A#525 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A−, jobs & income B+·lowest: schools B−
12Saint-Saturnin2,774 people62.8top 15.1%A−#573 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A+, health A+·lowest: safety D
13Cérans-Foulletourte3,341 people62.8top 15.1%A−#576 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A, cost of living A−·lowest: walkability C
14Yvré-l'Évêque4,181 people62.2top 16.5%A−#628 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: health A, jobs & income A·lowest: schools C−
15Le Lude3,983 people59.6top 21.6%A−#821 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: schools A+, cost of living A·lowest: jobs & income C−
16La Ferté-Bernard8,740 people57.4top 26.5%B+#1,008 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, cost of living A−·lowest: safety C−
17Changé6,911 people57.0top 27.6%B+#1,049 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A, health A−·lowest: schools D
18Connerré2,780 people55.8top 30.5%B+#1,159 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A−, walkability B+·lowest: safety C
19Moncé-en-Belin3,697 people55.2top 31.7%B+#1,204 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A−, cost of living B+·lowest: walkability D
20Ruaudin3,481 people54.9top 32.3%B+#1,226 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A, health B·lowest: schools C−
21Fresnay-sur-Sarthe2,928 people54.9top 32.5%B+#1,234 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A+, health B+·lowest: schools D
22Arnage5,445 people54.0top 35.1%B#1,333 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A−, walkability B+·lowest: schools D
23Saint-Calais2,948 people53.7top 35.9%B#1,365 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A+, walkability A−·lowest: safety C
24Montval-sur-Loir5,641 people53.0top 38.0%B#1,441 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, walkability A−·lowest: safety D
25Mamers4,996 people52.7top 38.9%B#1,479 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, cost of living A·lowest: jobs & income C−
26Écommoy4,868 people51.8top 41.6%B#1,580 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, safety B·lowest: schools D−
27Sablé-sur-Sarthe12,326 people48.9top 49.9%B−#1,894 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, cost of living A−·lowest: safety D
28La Flèche14,947 people46.0bottom 42.3%C+#2,193 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living B+, walkability B+·lowest: safety D
29Coulaines8,121 people45.4bottom 40.5%C+#2,259 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A+, health B·lowest: jobs & income D
30Allonnes10,739 people42.3bottom 32.9%C#2,550 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, cost of living B·lowest: safety C−
31Le Mans146,249 people41.6bottom 31.2%C#2,612 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A+, health B+·lowest: safety D
Quick answers
Questions people ask
What is the best place to live in Sarthe?
La Bazoge ranks first of 31 graded towns of 2,500 or more: safety (A+) and jobs & income (A) are its strongest grades; walkability (C+) is its lowest. La Suze-sur-Sarthe and Parigné-l'Évêque 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 Sarthe, 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 Sarthe page.
Département by département
Best places to live, département by département
AinAisneAllierAlpes-de-Haute-ProvenceAlpes-MaritimesArdècheAubeAudeBas-RhinBouches-du-RhôneCalvadosCharenteCharente-MaritimeCôte-d'OrCôtes-d'ArmorDeux-SèvresDordogneDoubsDrômeEssonneEureEure-et-LoirFinistèreGardGirondeHaut-RhinHaute-GaronneHaute-LoireHaute-SavoieHaute-VienneHauts-de-SeineHéraultIlle-et-VilaineIndre-et-LoireIsèreLandesLoir-et-CherLoireLoire-AtlantiqueLoiretLot-et-GaronneMaine-et-LoireMancheMarneMayenneMeurthe-et-MoselleMorbihanMoselleNordOiseOrneParisPas-de-CalaisPuy-de-DômePyrénées-AtlantiquesPyrénées-OrientalesRéunionRhôneSaône-et-LoireSartheSavoieSeine-et-MarneSeine-MaritimeSeine-Saint-DenisSommeTarnTarn-et-GaronneVal-d'OiseVal-de-MarneVarVaucluseVendéeVienneVosgesYonneYvelines
Photos: La Bazoge, Stephvvv (CC BY-SA 3.0) · La Suze-sur-Sarthe, Skouame (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Parigné-l'Évêque, Yodaspirine (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 #70 of November 9, 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.