Marcenat

Allier · CC Saint-Pourçain Sioule Limagne · INSEE 03160

A school, but no food shop and nowhere to eat or drink.

Few services 22.9/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 46 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Marcenat (INSEE 03160) is in Allier (03), part of CC Saint-Pourçain Sioule Limagne. Population 386 (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/03160-marcenat

Vitality score

Vitality score 22.9/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 46 % of the 18,020 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	25	0
Social	0	20	0
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.32	5	1.58
Population trend	0.67	10	6.7
Housing mix	0.97	5	4.84

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 0 of 6

Eating out 0 of 1

Cafés and bars 0 of 1

Schools 1 of 3

Health 0 of 4

Public services 0 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 0 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 school, but no food shop and nowhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE). ^[3]

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

1 × Hairdresser (DE MECHES AVEC VOUS). ^[3,4]

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Restaurant, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy, Post office / agence postale. ^[3,4]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [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	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Café / bar	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [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	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Library	1	MAIRIE DE MARCENAT	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Gym / sports hall	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Swimming pool	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Bank	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Hairdresser	1	DE MECHES AVEC VOUS	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [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: 359 peak 2017: 405 2023: 386 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 371 (2012) → 386 (2023): 4 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 330 (1990) → 386 (2023): 17 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 190, of which 1.6 % second homes and 10 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Primary school Food shop — 2.7 km EBakery — 4.3 km SEGP — 4.3 km SEPharmacy — 4.3 km SE 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 (Saint-Germain-des-Fossés): 4.3 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Billy): 2.7 km to the east (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Saint-Germain-des-Fossés): 4.3 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Saint-Germain-des-Fossés): 4.3 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Marcenat): 0 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[10]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 35.2

Days at or below 0 °C 72.6

Muggy days a summer 1.3

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 35 days a year at or above 30 °C and 73 days at or below 0 °C, over 10 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the BILLY weather station, 2.5 km away at 260 m; the village itself is at 260 m. ^[11]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 1 day a summer. ^[11]

Humidity measured at VICHY-CHARMEIL, 7.6 km away at 249 m, over 30 summers. ^[11]

An average of 782 mm of rain a year, spread over 124 days — about 6.3 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at BILLY, 2.5 km away at 260 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 — 03160/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03160/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03160/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03160/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 03236
INSEE BPE 2025 — 03029
INSEE BPE 2025 — 03160
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
Miramont-d'Astarac	32	378 km SW	357	22.3	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 100 % · winter 53 % · humidity 43 %
Trémons	47	282 km SW	409	22.6	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 97 % · winter 50 % · humidity 43 %
Castella	47	301 km SW	370	24.8	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 85 % · winter 43 % · humidity 43 %
La Cour-Marigny	45	194 km N	379	24.9	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 74 % · winter 91 % · humidity 100 %
Rocles	03	35 km NW	326	19.1	No daily shops	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 49 % · winter 68 % · humidity 100 %
Sainte-Marie	32	348 km SW	386	24.8	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 87 % · winter 72 % · humidity 57 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Rocles	03	35 km NW	326	19.1	No daily shops	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 49 % · winter 68 % · humidity 100 %
La Cour-Marigny	45	194 km N	379	24.9	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 74 % · winter 91 % · humidity 100 %
Trémons	47	282 km SW	409	22.6	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 97 % · winter 50 % · humidity 43 %
Castella	47	301 km SW	370	24.8	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 85 % · winter 43 % · humidity 43 %
Sainte-Marie	32	348 km SW	386	24.8	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 87 % · winter 72 % · humidity 57 %
Miramont-d'Astarac	32	378 km SW	357	22.3	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 100 % · winter 53 % · humidity 43 %

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 Marcenat'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
Saint-Avit	26	168 km SE	317	30	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 88 % · humidity 100 %
Billezois	03	14 km E	363	37.1	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 100 % · humidity 100 %
Périgny	03	12 km E	484	37.5	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 96 % · humidity 100 %
Saint-Santin-de-Maurs	15	199 km SW	366	32.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 100 % · humidity 93 %
Ratières	26	169 km SE	275	21.7	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 92 % · humidity 100 %
Boucé	03	12 km NE	507	27.7	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 100 % · humidity 86 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/03160-marcenat