Yalga is an urban township in the urban district of Saransk of the Mordovia Republic. It is a railway station. It was founded in the late 19th century during construction of the Moscow and Kazan railroad.

It has the population of 7165 people (as of 2014).

The hydronym comes from the stream of Elga that runs through the township. Its name, in turn, comes from the Turkic word meaning “a small river” or “a stream”. Recently the name of Yalga has been associated with the Mordovian word of yalga, meaning “a friend, companion, adherent”.

Yalga stands on the left bank of River Insar in the south of Saransk.

It got the status of an urban township in 1984.