Valernes

Identity

Valernes (INSEE 04231) is in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04), part of CC du Sisteronais-Buëch. Population 245 (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/04231-valernes

Vitality score

Vitality score 29.7/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 82 % of the 17,145 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 school and somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop. ^[3,4]

2 × Café / bar (LE BISTROT DE VALERNES · LE BISTROT). ^[4]

2 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PRIVEE HORS CONTRAT COMMUNAUTE DE LA RECONCILIATION · ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE VALERNES). ^[3]

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

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

Population 250 (2012) → 245 (2023): -2 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 222 (1990) → 245 (2023): 10.4 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 166, of which 30.7 % second homes and 0 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Sisteron): 4.7 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Sisteron): 4.7 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Sisteron): 5.2 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Sisteron): 7.3 km to the south (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Valernes): 0 km to the west (straight line). ^[9]

Climate

An average of 49 days a year at or above 30 °C and 105 days at or below 0 °C, over 26 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the SISTERON weather station, 5.5 km away at 500 m; the village itself is at 591 m. ^[10]

The village sits 91 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. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at SISTERON, 5.5 km away at 500 m, over 26 summers. ^[10]

That station sits 91 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 4.57 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[10]

An average of 833 mm of rain a year, spread over 77 days — about 10.8 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at SISTERON, 5.5 km away at 500 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04231/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04231/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04231/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04231/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 04209
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 04231
10. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024