Bessay-sur-Allier

Allier · CA Moulins Communauté · INSEE 03025

A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink.

Partly served 45/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 66 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Bessay-sur-Allier (INSEE 03025) is in Allier (03), part of CA Moulins Communauté. Population 1,382 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Bourgs ruraux (level 5). ^[2]

Data vintages: INSEE BPE 2025 · INSEE SIRENE 2026-09 · INSEE census (RP) 2023 · INSEE COG 2026 · INSEE density grid 2026.

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/03025-bessay-sur-allier

Vitality score

Vitality score 45/100 — Partly served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 66 % of the 12,196 communes of a similar size.

Compare this with communes of a similar size. The score measures how well a place is served relative to its own size band, and larger communes score higher as a rule — so it reads meaningfully against another village, and misleadingly against a town.

Measured but not scored in this model: Market. See the methodology for why.

Component	Value (0–1)	Weight	Contribution
Daily food	0.39	25	9.84
Social	0.51	20	10.26
Education	0.39	10	3.93
Health	0.2	10	1.97
Public & culture	0.39	5	1.97
Population trend	0.54	10	5.4
Housing mix	0.97	5	4.85

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 3 of 6

Eating out 1 of 1

Cafés and bars 1 of 1

Schools 1 of 3

Health 1 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 1 of 2

Everyday services 1 of 3

Lodging 0 of 2

One square per service type, shaded by how many: none, one, a few, five or more. A blank square means none was counted — the sources do not distinguish “none here” from “not counted”.

A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

1 × Bakery (boulangerie) (LA NOUVELLE FOURNEE). ^[3,4]

1 × Butcher (boucherie) (SARL LE BOEUF C). ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (PANIER SYMPA). ^[3,4]

2 × Restaurant (LA POPOTE QUI DEPOTE · UN JOUR SANS FAIM). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar (CHEZ MEMENN). ^[4]

1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE PRIMAIRE JEAN DE LA FONTAINE). ^[3]

1 × GP (médecin généraliste) (PASCAL BOURGADE, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

1 × Post office / agence postale (BESSAY SUR ALLIER AP). ^[3]

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE BESSAY-SUR-ALLIER). ^[3]

1 × Gym / sports hall (SALLE DES SPORTS). ^[3]

2 × Hairdresser (GM COIFF' · AUX MILLE ET UNE NUANCES). ^[3,4]

Not found in the commune: Supermarket, Nursery school (maternelle), Pharmacy. ^[3,4]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	1	LA NOUVELLE FOURNEE	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 3 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	1	SARL LE BOEUF C	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	1	PANIER SYMPA	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Supermarket	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Cheese shop (fromagerie)	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Fishmonger	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Restaurant	2	LA POPOTE QUI DEPOTE · UN JOUR SANS FAIM	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Café / bar	1	CHEZ MEMENN	INSEE SIRENE 1 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE PRIMAIRE JEAN DE LA FONTAINE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	1	PASCAL BOURGADE, MÉDECIN	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Pharmacy	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Nurse	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Dentist	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Post office / agence postale	1	BESSAY SUR ALLIER AP	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	1	BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE BESSAY-SUR-ALLIER	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Gym / sports hall	1	SALLE DES SPORTS	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Swimming pool	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Bank	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Hairdresser	2	GM COIFF' · AUX MILLE ET UNE NUANCES	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Fuel station	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Hotel	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Campsite	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]

Market and village life

Market day: unknown — nothing found in the datasets or on the commune website.

Trajectory

1968: 1,207 peak 2007: 1,417 2023: 1,382 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 1,390 (2012) → 1,382 (2023): -0.6 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 1,329 (1990) → 1,382 (2023): 4 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 722, of which 1.5 % second homes and 12.7 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Bakery, Food shop, GP Primary school — 0.5 km NPharmacy — 8.5 km NW Straight-line, from the mairie, in the direction given. Services in the same town share a spoke. Distance is not travel time: a pass or an estuary can double it.

Bakery (Bessay-sur-Allier): 0.3 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Bessay-sur-Allier): 0.3 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Bessay-sur-Allier): 0.4 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Besson): 8.5 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Bessay-sur-Allier): 0.5 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 18.5

Days at or below 0 °C 57.4

Muggy days a summer 2.9

Each track runs from the 5th to the 95th percentile of the 34,141 communes with that measurement; the tick is the median. A value beyond either end sits at the end and is marked ▸.

An average of 19 days a year at or above 30 °C and 57 days at or below 0 °C, over 22 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the CHEMILLY weather station, 6.6 km away at 236 m; the village itself is at 226 m. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 3 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at FERTE-HAUTERIVE, 7.2 km away at 226 m, over 17 summers. ^[10]

An average of 722 mm of rain a year, spread over 114 days — about 6.3 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at CHEMILLY, 6.6 km away at 236 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03025/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03025/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03025/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03025/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 03025
INSEE BPE 2025 — 03026
Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024

Villages like this one

Matched on size, density, second homes and which everyday shops and services are present — not on the score, so a village of the same kind that is doing better or worse shows up rather than being hidden.

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Vallabrègues	30	304 km S	1,375	54	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 3 % · winter 46 % · humidity 50 %
Amfreville	14	412 km NW	1,394	50.9	Partly served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 59 % · winter 61 % · humidity 86 %
Vendémian	34	318 km S	1,149	47.4	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 5 % · winter 64 % · humidity 71 %
Lérouville	55	309 km NE	1,358	53.6	Partly served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 88 % · humidity 86 %
Jonzieux	42	147 km SE	1,227	51.9	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 77 % · winter 41 % · humidity 79 %
Champvans	39	175 km NE	1,460	50.5	Partly served	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Jonzieux	42	147 km SE	1,227	51.9	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 77 % · winter 41 % · humidity 79 %
Champvans	39	175 km NE	1,460	50.5	Partly served	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 %
Vallabrègues	30	304 km S	1,375	54	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 3 % · winter 46 % · humidity 50 %
Lérouville	55	309 km NE	1,358	53.6	Partly served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 88 % · humidity 86 %
Vendémian	34	318 km S	1,149	47.4	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 5 % · winter 64 % · humidity 71 %
Amfreville	14	412 km NW	1,394	50.9	Partly served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 59 % · winter 61 % · humidity 86 %

Sort and compare these on the full list →

…and in much the same climate

The same match on size and services, narrowed to communes whose summers, winters and summer humidity are all close to Bessay-sur-Allier's. All three are required, so this section is absent for the 11.8 % of communes with no humidity station near enough to measure: two temperature axes alone cannot tell a muggy coast from a dry one.

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Les Échelles	73	216 km SE	1,286	44.7	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 %
Plauzat	63	92 km S	1,641	58.6	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 92 % · humidity 86 %
Meursault	21	123 km NE	1,363	59.5	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 97 % · humidity 86 %
Chenoise-Cucharmoy	77	243 km N	1,607	51.4	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 %
Mareau-aux-Prés	45	196 km NW	1,669	43.4	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 95 % · humidity 86 %
Saint-Romain-la-Motte	42	62 km SE	1,436	39.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 99 % · humidity 86 %

Elsewhere

Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/03025-bessay-sur-allier