Perched on a hill, Mont-Saint-Aignan is attached to the city of Rouen and is located in the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly, Mont-Saint-Aignan was divided into two distinct towns, one hand Saint-Aignan and secondly, Mont-aux-Malades. The latter was named as the twelfth century, Mont Saint Jacques on which it is home to a leper colony.
In 1819, Saint-Aignan and Mont-aux-Malades merging to Mont-Saint-Aignan. Long facing agriculture, the town is urbanizing rapidly from 1960. Mont-Saint-Aignan now houses an important part of the university and its student population is substantial. Farms have totally disappeared from the local economy.