Caves

Aude · CA Le Grand Narbonne · INSEE 11086

A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink.

Few services 39.6/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 67 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Caves (INSEE 11086) is in Aude (11), part of CA Le Grand Narbonne. Population 875 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Bourgs ruraux (level 5). ^[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/11086-caves

Vitality score

Vitality score 39.6/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 67 % of the 15,155 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.

Component	Value (0–1)	Weight	Contribution
Daily food	0.21	25	5.27
Social	0.32	20	6.32
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.63	5	3.16
Population trend	1	10	10
Housing mix	0.51	5	2.56

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 1 of 6

Eating out 0 of 1

Cafés and bars 1 of 1

Schools 1 of 3

Health 0 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 0 of 2

Everyday services 1 of 3

Lodging 0 of 2

One square per service type, shaded by how many: none, one, a few, five or more. A blank square means none was counted — the sources do not distinguish “none here” from “not counted”.

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

1 × Bakery (boulangerie) (BOULANGERIE AU BLE D'OR). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar (EL RANCHO DEL DIABLO). ^[4]

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

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

1 × Library (MÉDIATHÈQUE DE CAVES MAISON ROSE SUZANNE). ^[3]

2 × Hairdresser (BULLES D'HAIR). ^[3,4]

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

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	1	BOULANGERIE AU BLE D'OR	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Supermarket	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Cheese shop (fromagerie)	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Fishmonger	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Restaurant	0		INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Café / bar	1	EL RANCHO DEL DIABLO	INSEE SIRENE 1 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE PRIMAIRE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Pharmacy	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Nurse	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Dentist	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Post office / agence postale	1	CAVES AP	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	1	MÉDIATHÈQUE DE CAVES MAISON ROSE SUZANNE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Gym / sports hall	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Swimming pool	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Bank	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Hairdresser	2	BULLES D'HAIR	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Fuel station	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Hotel	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Campsite	0		INSEE SIRENE 2 / INSEE BPE 0 [4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

1968: 252 peak 2017: 875 2023: 875 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 780 (2012) → 875 (2023): 12.2 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 280 (1990) → 875 (2023): 212.5 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 525, of which 24.4 % second homes and 0.8 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Bakery, Primary school Food shop — 2.2 km NGP — 4.3 km SPharmacy — 4.9 km N Straight-line, from the mairie, in the direction given. Services in the same town share a spoke. Distance is not travel time: a pass or an estuary can double it.

Bakery (Caves): 0.1 km to the west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (La Palme): 2.2 km to the north (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Fitou): 4.3 km to the south (straight line). ^[10]

Pharmacy (La Palme): 4.9 km to the north (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Caves): 0.2 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 51.3▸

Days at or below 0 °C 2.8▸

Muggy days a summer 27▸

Each track runs from the 5th to the 95th percentile of the 34,141 communes with that measurement; the tick is the median. A value beyond either end sits at the end and is marked ▸.

An average of 51 days a year at or above 30 °C and 3 days at or below 0 °C, over 12 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the FITOU weather station, 4.4 km away at 9 m; the village itself is at 29 m. ^[11]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 27 days a summer. ^[11]

Humidity measured at LEUCATE, 6.9 km away at 42 m, over 30 summers. ^[11]

An average of 501 mm of rain a year, spread over 57 days — about 8.8 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at FITOU, 4.4 km away at 9 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11086/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11086/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11086/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11086/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 11086
INSEE BPE 2025 — 11188
INSEE BPE 2025 — 11144
Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024

Villages like this one

Matched on size, density, second homes and which everyday shops and services are present — not on the score, so a village of the same kind that is doing better or worse shows up rather than being hidden.

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Neffiès	34	73 km NE	1,008	39.6	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 74 % · winter 62 % · humidity 0 %
Érôme	26	285 km NE	848	38.6	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 90 % · winter 59 % · humidity 0 %
Bouère	53	611 km NW	1,058	28.8	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 10 % · winter 51 % · humidity 0 %
Coudray	53	610 km NW	869	42.3	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 10 % · winter 47 % · humidity 0 %
Chastel-Nouvel	48	186 km N	938	36.1	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 0 % · winter 0 % · humidity 0 %
Poissons	52	635 km N	618	33.2	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 8 % · winter 46 % · humidity 0 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Neffiès	34	73 km NE	1,008	39.6	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 74 % · winter 62 % · humidity 0 %
Chastel-Nouvel	48	186 km N	938	36.1	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 0 % · winter 0 % · humidity 0 %
Érôme	26	285 km NE	848	38.6	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 90 % · winter 59 % · humidity 0 %
Coudray	53	610 km NW	869	42.3	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 10 % · winter 47 % · humidity 0 %
Bouère	53	611 km NW	1,058	28.8	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 10 % · winter 51 % · humidity 0 %
Poissons	52	635 km N	618	33.2	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 8 % · winter 46 % · humidity 0 %

Sort and compare these on the full list →

…and in much the same climate

The same match on size and services, narrowed to communes whose summers, winters and summer humidity are all close to Caves's. All three are required, so this section is absent for the 11.8 % of communes with no humidity station near enough to measure: two temperature axes alone cannot tell a muggy coast from a dry one.

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Fitou	11	4.2 km S	1,158	46.5	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 100 % · humidity 100 %
Cargèse	2A	469 km E	1,150	64.2	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 96 % · humidity 86 %

Elsewhere

Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/11086-caves