Bénaix

Identity

Bénaix (INSEE 09051) is in Ariège (09), part of CC du Pays d'Olmes. Population 152 (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/09051-benaix

Vitality score

Vitality score 14.3/100 — No daily shops (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 42 % of the 14,217 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

Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school. ^[3,4]

1 × Restaurant (GRILLARD'INS). ^[3,4]

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), Primary school (élémentaire), 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 153 (2012) → 152 (2023): -0.7 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 178 (1990) → 152 (2023): -14.6 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 107, of which 27.1 % second homes and 0 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Lavelanet): 2.5 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Lavelanet): 2.4 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Lavelanet): 2.6 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Lavelanet): 2.6 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Villeneuve-d'Olmes): 2.4 km to the west (straight line). ^[9]

Climate

An average of 10 days a year at or above 30 °C and 45 days at or below 0 °C, over 26 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the MONTFERRIER weather station, 6.5 km away at 760 m; the village itself is at 618 m. ^[10]

The village sits 142 m below the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 5.7 °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 2 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at LERAN, 10.5 km away at 391 m, over 23 summers. ^[10]

That station sits 227 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.26 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[10]

An average of 1,057 mm of rain a year, spread over 123 days — about 8.6 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at BELESTA, 6.4 km away at 490 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

What property sold for

15 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 105,000 € — 769 € per m² of built surface. ^[11]

The median across Ariège is 1,295 € per m², so this commune sits below it. ^[11]

These are recorded sale prices, not valuations or asking prices, and a median over five years spans five different markets. Built surface excludes land, which carries much of a rural property's value.

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 09051/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 09051/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 09051/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 09051/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 09160
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 09336
10. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
11. DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025