L'Épine

Identity

L'Épine (INSEE 05048) is in Hautes-Alpes (05), part of CC du Sisteronais-Buëch. Population 200 (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/05048-l-epine

Vitality score

Vitality score 29.8/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 88 % of the 15,961 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]

1 × Restaurant (L'AUBERGE DE L'EPINE). ^[3,4]

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

1 × Post office / agence postale (L EPINE AP). ^[3]

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE L'ÉPINE). ^[3]

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Café / bar, 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 185 (2012) → 200 (2023): 8.1 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 148 (1990) → 200 (2023): 35.1 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 215, of which 40 % second homes and 12.1 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Serres): 8.4 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Serres): 8.2 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Valdoule): 7 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Serres): 8.3 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (L'Épine): 0.2 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[10]

Climate

An average of 33 days a year at or above 30 °C and 110 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the ROSANS weather station, 12.4 km away at 625 m; the village itself is at 821 m. ^[11]

The village sits 196 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 ROSANS, 12.4 km away at 625 m, over 29 summers. ^[11]

That station sits 196 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 878 mm of rain a year, spread over 86 days — about 10.2 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at SERRES, 7.7 km away at 652 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 05048/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 05048/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 05048/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 05048/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 05166
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 05024
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 05048
11. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024