Haut-Bocage
A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink.
Served 62.1/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 98 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
Haut-Bocage (INSEE 03158) is in Allier (03), part of CC du Val de Cher. Population 841 (2023). [1]
INSEE density class: Rural à habitat très dispersé (level 7). [2]
Commune nouvelle formed on 2016-01-01 from 2 former communes: Givarlais (03123), Louroux-Hodement (03153). [3]
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/03158-haut-bocage
Vitality score
Vitality score 62.1/100 — Served (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: high.
Better served than 98 % of the 15,343 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 | 0.63 | 25 | 15.8 |
| Social | 0.63 | 20 | 12.64 |
| Education | 0.86 | 10 | 8.65 |
| Health | 0.32 | 10 | 3.16 |
| Public & culture | 0.75 | 5 | 3.74 |
| Population trend | 0.5 | 10 | 5.01 |
| Housing mix | 0.75 | 5 | 3.76 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. [4,5]
1 × Bakery (boulangerie). [4,5]
1 × Butcher (boucherie) (SARL DU DOMAINE DE LA VAUVRE). [4]
1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (LE GOUT DU BOCAGE). [4,5]
1 × Restaurant (VALJO). [4,5]
1 × Café / bar. [5]
1 × Nursery school (maternelle) (ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE). [4]
2 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE DE MAILLET · ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PUBLIQUE). [4]
1 × GP (médecin généraliste) (VERONIQUE GENEAU DE LAMARLIERE, MÉDECIN). [4]
1 × Post office / agence postale (HAUT BOCAGE LA POSTE RELAIS RP). [4]
2 × Library (POINT RELAIS DE MAILLET MAIRIE DE HAUT BOCAGE · POINT RELAIS DE LOUROUX-HODEMENT MAIRIE DE HAUT-BOCAGE). [4]
1 × Hairdresser. [4,5]
Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Restaurant.
Not found in the commune: Supermarket, Pharmacy. [4,5]
All 25 service types, with per-source counts
| Type | Count | Names | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakery (boulangerie) | 1 | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [4,5] | |
| Butcher (boucherie) | 1 | SARL DU DOMAINE DE LA VAUVRE | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4] |
| Grocery (épicerie / supérette) | 1 | LE GOUT DU BOCAGE | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [4,5] |
| Supermarket | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,5] | |
| Cheese shop (fromagerie) | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 0 [5] | |
| Fishmonger | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,5] | |
| Restaurant | 1 | VALJO | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 3 [4,5] |
| Café / bar | 1 | INSEE SIRENE 1 [5] | |
| Nursery school (maternelle) | 1 | ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE | INSEE BPE 1 [4] |
| Primary school (élémentaire) | 2 | ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE DE MAILLET · ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PUBLIQUE | INSEE BPE 2 [4] |
| Collège | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| GP (médecin généraliste) | 1 | VERONIQUE GENEAU DE LAMARLIERE, MÉDECIN | INSEE BPE 1 [4] |
| Pharmacy | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,5] | |
| Nurse | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Dentist | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Post office / agence postale | 1 | HAUT BOCAGE LA POSTE RELAIS RP | INSEE BPE 1 [4] |
| Library | 2 | POINT RELAIS DE MAILLET MAIRIE DE HAUT BOCAGE · POINT RELAIS DE LOUROUX-HODEMENT MAIRIE DE HAUT-BOCAGE | INSEE BPE 2 [4] |
| Cinema | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Gym / sports hall | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Swimming pool | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Bank | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Hairdresser | 1 | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [4,5] | |
| Fuel station | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,5] | |
| Hotel | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,5] | |
| Campsite | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,5] |
Market and village life
Market day: unknown — nothing found in the datasets or on the commune website.
Trajectory
Population 945 (2012) → 841 (2023): -11 % over 10 years. [6,1]
Population 840 (1990) → 841 (2023): 0.1 % over 30 years. [7,1]
Dwellings (2023): 491, of which 12.4 % second homes and 12.6 % vacant. [8]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Haut-Bocage): 5 km to the south-east (straight line). [9]
Food shop (Haut-Bocage): 3.2 km to the north-west (straight line). [9]
GP (Haut-Bocage): 4.9 km to the east (straight line). [9]
Pharmacy (Estivareilles): 6.6 km to the south-west (straight line). [10]
Primary school (Haut-Bocage): 0.2 km to the north-west (straight line). [9]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 21 days a year at or above 30 °C and 71 days at or below 0 °C, over 15 complete years in 1995–2024. [11]
Measured at the HERISSON weather station, 8.3 km away at 248 m; the village itself is at 306 m. [11]
The village sits 58 m above the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 6.06 °C per km of altitude before the days were counted. Expect the result to be within about 0.68 °C. [11]
Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 1 day a summer. [11]
Humidity measured at MONTLUCON, 13.4 km away at 207 m, over 10 summers. [11]
That station sits 99 m below 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 776 mm of rain a year, spread over 128 days — about 6.1 mm on a day it rains. [11]
Rainfall measured at HERISSON, 8.3 km away at 248 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. [11]
Uncertainties
No specific uncertainties flagged.
References
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03158/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE COG 2026
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03158/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03158/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03158/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 03158
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 03111
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gelles | 63 | 79 km S | 921 | 64.2 | Served | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 78 % · humidity 93 % |
| Bussière-Galant | 87 | 157 km SW | 1,298 | 50.1 | Partly served | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 77 % · winter 57 % · humidity 93 % |
| Guéhenno | 56 | 430 km NW | 814 | 48.5 | Partly served | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 59 % · winter 46 % · humidity 100 % |
| Lopérec | 29 | 543 km NW | 828 | 51.2 | Partly served | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 54 % · winter 42 % · humidity 100 % |
| Saint-Cernin | 15 | 159 km S | 1,039 | 50.6 | Partly served | Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 46 % · humidity 93 % |
| Romagne | 86 | 182 km W | 801 | 55.4 | Partly served | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 97 % · winter 50 % · humidity 79 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gelles | 63 | 79 km S | 921 | 64.2 | Served | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 78 % · humidity 93 % |
| Bussière-Galant | 87 | 157 km SW | 1,298 | 50.1 | Partly served | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 77 % · winter 57 % · humidity 93 % |
| Saint-Cernin | 15 | 159 km S | 1,039 | 50.6 | Partly served | Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 46 % · humidity 93 % |
| Romagne | 86 | 182 km W | 801 | 55.4 | Partly served | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 97 % · winter 50 % · humidity 79 % |
| Guéhenno | 56 | 430 km NW | 814 | 48.5 | Partly served | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 59 % · winter 46 % · humidity 100 % |
| Lopérec | 29 | 543 km NW | 828 | 51.2 | Partly served | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 54 % · winter 42 % · humidity 100 % |
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 Haut-Bocage'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laignes | 21 | 199 km NE | 668 | 59.1 | Partly served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 93 % · humidity 100 % |
| Viglain | 45 | 142 km N | 849 | 55.3 | Partly served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 96 % · humidity 93 % |
| Dompierre-les-Ormes | 71 | 141 km E | 893 | 63 | Served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 96 % · humidity 93 % |
| Soumans | 23 | 33 km SW | 611 | 51.8 | Partly served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 97 % · humidity 100 % |
| Lanuéjouls | 12 | 232 km S | 779 | 76.9 | Served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 % |
| Treigny-Perreuse-Sainte-Colombe | 89 | 126 km N | 1,083 | 39.6 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 92 % · humidity 100 % |
Elsewhere
Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/03158-haut-bocage