Thoard

Identity

Thoard (INSEE 04217) is in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04), part of CA Provence-Alpes-Agglomération. Population 744 (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/04217-thoard

Vitality score

Vitality score 58.1/100 — Partly served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: medium (sources disagree on Restaurant).

Better served than 97 % of the 16,088 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

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

1 × Bakery (boulangerie) (LE MOULIN DES SAUNIER). ^[3,4]

1 × Butcher (boucherie) (BOUCHERIE CHARCUTERIE SPECIALITES). ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette). ^[3,4]

1 × Restaurant (AUBERGE DE LA FORGE). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar. ^[4]

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

1 × Post office / agence postale (LA POSTE). ^[3]

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHEQUE DE THOARD). ^[3]

1 × Hairdresser. ^[3,4]

1 × Campsite (CAMPING DU VIEUX MOULIN). ^[3,4]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette), 1 × Restaurant.

Not found in the commune: Supermarket, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy. ^[3,4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

Population 732 (2012) → 744 (2023): 1.6 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 564 (1990) → 744 (2023): 31.9 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 463, of which 17.1 % second homes and 9.3 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Thoard): 0 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Thoard): 0.3 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Barras): 7.6 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Digne-les-Bains): 8.6 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[10]

Primary school (Thoard): 0.1 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

An average of 25 days a year at or above 30 °C and 133 days at or below 0 °C, over 12 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the THOARD weather station, 0.9 km away at 732 m; the village itself is at 786 m. ^[11]

The village sits 54 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, 9.4 km away at 554 m, over 21 summers. ^[11]

That station sits 232 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, 0.9 km away at 732 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

Uncertainties

sources disagree on Restaurant

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04217/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04217/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04217/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04217/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 04217
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 04021
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 04070
11. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024