Molles

Allier · CA Vichy Communauté · INSEE 03174

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

Partly served 46.9/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 82 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Molles (INSEE 03174) is in Allier (03), part of CA Vichy Communauté. Population 904 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Rural à habitat dispersé (level 6). ^[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/03174-molles

Vitality score

Vitality score 46.9/100 — Partly served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 82 % of the 14,935 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	0.21	25	5.27
Social	0.75	20	14.97
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.32	5	1.58
Population trend	0.73	10	7.35
Housing mix	0.87	5	4.35

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 1 of 6

Eating out 1 of 1

Cafés and bars 1 of 1

Schools 1 of 3

Health 0 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 0 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 food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

1 × Bakery (boulangerie) (BOULANGERIE PATISSERIE MARCHAND). ^[3,4]

1 × Restaurant. ^[3,4]

2 × Café / bar (M ET M BAR). ^[4]

1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE PRIMAIRE JEAN ZAY). ^[3]

1 × Post office / agence postale (MOLLES RP). ^[3]

1 × Hairdresser. ^[3,4]

Not found in the commune: Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy, Library. ^[3,4]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	1	BOULANGERIE PATISSERIE MARCHAND	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [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	1		INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Café / bar	2	M ET M BAR	INSEE SIRENE 2 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE PRIMAIRE JEAN ZAY	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	1	MOLLES RP	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	0		INSEE BPE 0 [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		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: 737 2023: 904 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 848 (2012) → 904 (2023): 6.6 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 732 (1990) → 904 (2023): 23.5 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 459, of which 6.5 % second homes and 8.1 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Bakery, Primary school Food shop — 5.9 km SWPharmacy — 7.4 km WGP — 8.2 km W 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 (Molles): 0.3 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Busset): 5.9 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Cusset): 8.2 km to the west (straight line). ^[10]

Pharmacy (Le Vernet): 7.4 km to the west (straight line). ^[11]

Primary school (Molles): 0.4 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 22.7

Days at or below 0 °C 58.9

Muggy days a summer 0.3

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 23 days a year at or above 30 °C and 59 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[12]

Measured at the VICHY-VILLE weather station, 9.3 km away at 255 m; the village itself is at 461 m. ^[12]

The village sits 206 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. ^[12]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. ^[12]

Humidity measured at VICHY-CHARMEIL, 13.9 km away at 249 m, over 30 summers. ^[12]

That station sits 212 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[12]

An average of 806 mm of rain a year, spread over 119 days — about 6.8 mm on a day it rains. ^[12]

Rainfall measured at VICHY-VILLE, 9.3 km away at 255 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[12]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03174/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03174/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03174/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03174/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 03174
INSEE BPE 2025 — 03045
INSEE BPE 2025 — 03095
INSEE BPE 2025 — 03306
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
Saint-Aubin-des-Coudrais	72	321 km NW	890	46	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Siméon	77	300 km N	883	47.2	Partly served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 67 % · winter 91 % · humidity 71 %
Saint-Ouen-les-Vignes	37	247 km NW	963	44.8	Partly served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 82 % · winter 73 % · humidity 79 %
Genac-Bignac	16	275 km W	974	41.9	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 90 % · winter 78 % · humidity 79 %
Boucoiran-et-Nozières	30	240 km S	991	51.4	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 0 % · winter 80 % · humidity 57 %
Bougarber	64	438 km SW	889	53.1	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 95 % · winter 57 % · humidity 7 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Boucoiran-et-Nozières	30	240 km S	991	51.4	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 0 % · winter 80 % · humidity 57 %
Saint-Ouen-les-Vignes	37	247 km NW	963	44.8	Partly served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 82 % · winter 73 % · humidity 79 %
Genac-Bignac	16	275 km W	974	41.9	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 90 % · winter 78 % · humidity 79 %
Saint-Siméon	77	300 km N	883	47.2	Partly served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 67 % · winter 91 % · humidity 71 %
Saint-Aubin-des-Coudrais	72	321 km NW	890	46	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Bougarber	64	438 km SW	889	53.1	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 95 % · winter 57 % · humidity 7 %

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 Molles'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-Aubin-des-Coudrais	72	321 km NW	890	46	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Augignac	24	229 km W	820	43.1	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 96 % · humidity 86 %
Culin	38	147 km SE	790	42.1	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 96 % · humidity 93 %
Magny	89	156 km N	870	36.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 96 % · humidity 86 %
Labergement-lès-Seurre	21	154 km NE	1,006	35.2	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 96 % · humidity 86 %
Pranzac	16	253 km W	872	45.7	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · 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/03174-molles