Le Castellard-Mélan
No food shop, school, café or restaurant in the commune.
No daily shops 8.7/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 25 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
Le Castellard-Mélan (INSEE 04040) is in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04), part of CA Provence-Alpes-Agglomération. Population 64 (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/04040-le-castellard-melan
Vitality score
Vitality score 8.7/100 — No daily shops (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: high.
Better served than 25 % of the 6,681 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 | 10 | 0 |
| Health | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Public & culture | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Population trend | 0.73 | 10 | 7.31 |
| Housing mix | 0.02 | 5 | 0.08 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
No food shop, school, café or restaurant in the commune. [3,4]
Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Restaurant, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), Primary school (élémentaire), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy, Post office / agence postale, Library. [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) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [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 | 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 | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [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
Population 60 (2012) → 64 (2023): 6.7 % over 10 years. [5,1]
Population 52 (1990) → 64 (2023): 23.1 % over 30 years. [6,1]
Dwellings (2023): 61, of which 49.2 % second homes and 3.3 % vacant. [7]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Thoard): 4.6 km to the south-east (straight line). [8]
Food shop (Thoard): 4.3 km to the south-east (straight line). [8]
GP (Barras): 11.2 km to the south (straight line). [9]
Pharmacy (Volonne): 12.4 km to the south-west (straight line). [10]
Primary school (Thoard): 4.6 km to the south-east (straight line). [8]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 16 days a year at or above 30 °C and 153 days at or below 0 °C, over 12 complete years in 1995–2024. [11]
Measured at the THOARD weather station, 4.7 km away at 732 m; the village itself is at 1,051 m. [11]
The village sits 319 m above the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 5.21 °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 0 days a summer. [11]
Humidity measured at DIGNE LES BAINS, 14 km away at 554 m, over 21 summers. [11]
That station sits 497 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 4.57 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. [11]
An average of 972 mm of rain a year, spread over 87 days — about 11.2 mm on a day it rains. [11]
Rainfall measured at THOARD, 4.7 km away at 732 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 — 04040/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04040/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04040/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04040/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 04217
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 04021
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 04244
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sainte-Colombe | 05 | 38 km W | 65 | 11.9 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 64 % · winter 62 % · humidity 100 % |
| Uxelles | 39 | 270 km N | 63 | 11.2 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 0 % · humidity 100 % |
| Marsas | 65 | 491 km W | 64 | 12.1 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 95 % · winter 0 % · humidity 71 % |
| Saint-Pantaléon-de-Lapleau | 19 | 334 km NW | 63 | 5.5 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.summer 90 % · winter 0 % |
| Conat | 66 | 351 km SW | 65 | 11.8 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 95 % · winter 0 % · humidity 57 % |
| Chassignolles | 43 | 248 km NW | 64 | 1 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 41 % · humidity 100 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sainte-Colombe | 05 | 38 km W | 65 | 11.9 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 64 % · winter 62 % · humidity 100 % |
| Chassignolles | 43 | 248 km NW | 64 | 1 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 41 % · humidity 100 % |
| Uxelles | 39 | 270 km N | 63 | 11.2 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 0 % · humidity 100 % |
| Saint-Pantaléon-de-Lapleau | 19 | 334 km NW | 63 | 5.5 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.summer 90 % · winter 0 % |
| Conat | 66 | 351 km SW | 65 | 11.8 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 95 % · winter 0 % · humidity 57 % |
| Marsas | 65 | 491 km W | 64 | 12.1 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 95 % · winter 0 % · humidity 71 % |
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 Le Castellard-Mélan'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montbrand | 05 | 57 km NW | 75 | 12.2 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 89 % · humidity 100 % |
| Châteauneuf-d'Entraunes | 06 | 57 km E | 62 | 5.5 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 97 % · humidity 100 % |
| Authon | 04 | 5.6 km N | 57 | 12.7 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 89 % · humidity 100 % |
| Barret-de-Lioure | 26 | 50 km W | 72 | 19.2 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 95 % · humidity 100 % |
| Blieux | 04 | 40 km SE | 60 | 8.4 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 99 % · humidity 100 % |
| Sauze | 06 | 58 km E | 67 | 9.1 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 99 % · humidity 100 % |
Elsewhere
Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/04040-le-castellard-melan