Vars

Identity

Vars (INSEE 05177) is in Hautes-Alpes (05), part of CC du Guillestrois et du Queyras. Population 588 (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/05177-vars

Vitality score

Vitality score 70.7/100 — Served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 100 % of the 17,168 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]

2 × Bakery (boulangerie) (LA VERONNAISE · LES PAIMBLOTINS). ^[3,4]

2 × Butcher (boucherie) (LIBRE SERVICE SPAR · MAISON GOUSTIERS). ^[3,4]

2 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (LIBRE SERVICE SPAR · SHERPA). ^[3,4]

2 × Supermarket. ^[3,4]

24 × Restaurant (D'ADDONA ROSETTE · LE BARJO · CHALET REFUGE BASSE RUA · LA MARMOTTE). ^[3,4]

2 × Café / bar (L'ECUELLE). ^[4]

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

3 × GP (médecin généraliste) (SOLÈNE PETITDEMANGE, MÉDECIN · PIERRE HERRMANN, MÉDECIN · PHILIPPE LIMPENS, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

2 × Pharmacy (PHARMACIE DE VARS). ^[3,4]

1 × Post office / agence postale (VARS STE MARIE AP). ^[3]

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE VARS). ^[3]

1 × Cinema (LE MELEZE). ^[3]

1 × Hairdresser (FLASH COIFFURE). ^[3,4]

2 × Fuel station (STATION SERVICE). ^[3,4]

8 × Hotel (HOTEL LE LOGIS · HÔTEL LA VIEILLE AUBERGE · LE CHALET D'ALTITUDE DES HEUREUX · LE MONTE PENTE · HÔTEL LES ESCONDUS). ^[3,4]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 2 × Butcher (boucherie), 1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette), 5 × Restaurant, 1 × Pharmacy, 2 × Hotel.

Not found in the commune: Nursery school (maternelle). ^[3]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

Population 706 (2012) → 588 (2023): -16.7 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 941 (1990) → 588 (2023): -37.5 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 4,010, of which 91.9 % second homes and 0.2 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Vars): 2.4 km to the south (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Vars): 0.2 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Vars): 2.5 km to the south (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Risoul): 5.4 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Vars): 1 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

An average of 1 day a year at or above 30 °C and 159 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the CEILLAC weather station, 11 km away at 1,665 m; the village itself is at 1,655 m. ^[10]

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

Humidity measured at PARPAILLON-NIVOSE, 11.7 km away at 2,545 m, over 13 summers. ^[10]

That station sits 890 m above 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 800 mm of rain a year, spread over 92 days — about 8.7 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at CEILLAC, 11 km away at 1,665 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 — 05177/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 05177/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 05177/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 05177/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 05177
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 05119
10. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024