The arrondissement of Les Sables-d'Olonne was created in 1800.[4] At the January 2017 reorganisation of the arrondissements of Vendée, it lost eight communes to the arrondissement of La Roche-sur-Yon.[5] In January 2019 the commune Landeronde passed from the arrondissement of Les Sables-d'Olonne to the arrondissement of La Roche-sur-Yon.[6]
As a result of the reorganisation of the cantons of France which came into effect in 2015, the borders of the cantons are no longer related to the borders of the arrondissements. The cantons of the arrondissement of Les Sables-d'Olonne were, as of January 2015:[7]