Châtel-Montagne

Identity

Châtel-Montagne (INSEE 03066) is in Allier (03), part of CA Vichy Communauté. Population 326 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Rural à habitat très dispersé (level 7). ^[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/03066-chatel-montagne

Vitality score

Vitality score 22.5/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 51 % of the 17,971 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.

Services

Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school. ^[3,4]

2 × Restaurant (LE BRODS). ^[3,4]

1 × GP (médecin généraliste) (CHARBEL SARKIS, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

1 × Post office / agence postale (CHATEL MONTAGNE AP). ^[3]

1 × Library (MAIRIE DE CHÂTEL MONTAGNE). ^[3]

1 × Campsite (LA CHABANNE). ^[3,4]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Campsite.

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), Primary school (élémentaire), Pharmacy. ^[3,4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

Population 395 (2012) → 326 (2023): -17.5 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 400 (1990) → 326 (2023): -18.5 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 413, of which 40 % second homes and 15.3 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Nizerolles): 4 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Le Mayet-de-Montagne): 4.9 km to the south (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Châtel-Montagne): 0.4 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[10]

Pharmacy (Le Mayet-de-Montagne): 4.9 km to the south (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Le Mayet-de-Montagne): 5.2 km to the south (straight line). ^[9]

Climate

An average of 15 days a year at or above 30 °C and 57 days at or below 0 °C, over 16 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the CHATEL-MONTAGNE weather station, 0.2 km away at 517 m; the village itself is at 505 m. ^[11]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 2 days a summer. ^[11]

Humidity measured at ST-NICOLAS, 11.7 km away at 1,022 m, over 30 summers. ^[11]

That station sits 517 m above the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[11]

An average of 1,009 mm of rain a year, spread over 136 days — about 7.4 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at CHATEL-MONTAGNE, 0.2 km away at 517 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

What property sold for

54 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 65,000 € — 596 € per m² of built surface. ^[12]

The median across Allier is 924 € per m², so this commune sits below it. ^[12]

These are recorded sale prices, not valuations or asking prices, and a median over five years spans five different markets. Built surface excludes land, which carries much of a rural property's value.

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03066/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03066/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03066/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03066/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 03201
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 03165
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 03066
11. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
12. DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025