Gaja-la-Selve
A school, but no food shop and nowhere to eat or drink.
No daily shops 18.8/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 70 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
Gaja-la-Selve (INSEE 11159) is in Aude (11), part of CC Piège Lauragais Malepère. Population 134 (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/11159-gaja-la-selve
Vitality score
Vitality score 18.8/100 — No daily shops (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: high.
Better served than 70 % of the 13,199 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 | 25 | 0 |
| Social | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Education | 0.63 | 10 | 6.32 |
| Health | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Public & culture | 0.32 | 5 | 1.58 |
| Population trend | 0.51 | 10 | 5.08 |
| Housing mix | 0.6 | 5 | 3 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
A school, but no food shop and nowhere to eat or drink. [3,4]
1 × Nursery school (maternelle) (ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE). [3]
1 × Post office / agence postale (GAJA LA SELVE AP). [3]
Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Restaurant, Café / bar, Primary school (élémentaire), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy, Library. [3,4]
All 25 service types, with per-source counts
| Type | Count | Names | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakery (boulangerie) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [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 | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 0 [4] | |
| Nursery school (maternelle) | 1 | ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE | INSEE BPE 1 [3] |
| Primary school (élémentaire) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [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 | GAJA LA SELVE AP | INSEE BPE 1 [3] |
| Library | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [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 | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [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 BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] |
Market and village life
Market day: unknown — nothing found in the datasets or on the commune website.
Trajectory
Population 141 (2012) → 134 (2023): -5 % over 10 years. [5,1]
Population 133 (1990) → 134 (2023): 0.8 % over 30 years. [6,1]
Dwellings (2023): 105, of which 20 % second homes and 9.5 % vacant. [7]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Fendeille): 9.2 km to the north-east (straight line). [8]
Food shop (Fanjeaux): 11.2 km to the east (straight line). [9]
GP (Belpech): 11.9 km to the west (straight line). [10]
Pharmacy (Fanjeaux): 11.3 km to the east (straight line). [9]
Primary school (Gaja-la-Selve): 0.1 km to the south-west (straight line). [11]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 26 days a year at or above 30 °C and 30 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. [12]
Measured at the CASTELNAUDARY weather station, 13 km away at 160 m; the village itself is at 322 m. [12]
The village sits 162 m above 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. [12]
Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 6 days a summer. [12]
Humidity measured at CASTELNAUDARY, 13 km away at 160 m, over 28 summers. [12]
That station sits 162 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.26 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. [12]
An average of 836 mm of rain a year, spread over 108 days — about 7.7 mm on a day it rains. [12]
Rainfall measured at RIBOUISSE, 1.3 km away at 302 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. [12]
Uncertainties
No specific uncertainties flagged.
References
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11159/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11159/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11159/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11159/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 11138
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 11136
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 11033
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 11159
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bouriège | 11 | 32 km SE | 151 | 19.9 | No daily shops | Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 72 % · winter 88 % · humidity 57 % |
| Champigny-sous-Varennes | 52 | 596 km NE | 134 | 11.8 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 72 % · winter 59 % · humidity 79 % |
| Chavenon | 03 | 367 km N | 140 | 15.9 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 72 % · winter 74 % · humidity 64 % |
| Monestier-Port-Dieu | 19 | 260 km N | 132 | 9.6 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 59 % · winter 24 % · humidity 57 % |
| Villembits | 65 | 129 km W | 109 | 14.6 | No daily shops | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 82 % · winter 88 % · humidity 100 % |
| Mont-de-Marrast | 32 | 126 km W | 106 | 12 | No daily shops | Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 79 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bouriège | 11 | 32 km SE | 151 | 19.9 | No daily shops | Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 72 % · winter 88 % · humidity 57 % |
| Mont-de-Marrast | 32 | 126 km W | 106 | 12 | No daily shops | Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 79 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 % |
| Villembits | 65 | 129 km W | 109 | 14.6 | No daily shops | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 82 % · winter 88 % · humidity 100 % |
| Monestier-Port-Dieu | 19 | 260 km N | 132 | 9.6 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 59 % · winter 24 % · humidity 57 % |
| Chavenon | 03 | 367 km N | 140 | 15.9 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 72 % · winter 74 % · humidity 64 % |
| Champigny-sous-Varennes | 52 | 596 km NE | 134 | 11.8 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 72 % · winter 59 % · humidity 79 % |
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 Gaja-la-Selve'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tourtrès | 47 | 187 km NW | 140 | 10.3 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 % |
| Bessac | 16 | 292 km NW | 122 | 8.2 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 88 % · humidity 100 % |
| Beaumont | 32 | 154 km NW | 122 | 10.5 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 88 % · humidity 86 % |
| Granges-d'Ans | 24 | 233 km N | 150 | 6.3 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 96 % · humidity 86 % |
| Monlezun | 32 | 140 km W | 157 | 7 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 86 % · humidity 86 % |
| Curac | 16 | 277 km NW | 113 | 9.6 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 88 % · humidity 86 % |
Elsewhere
Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/11159-gaja-la-selve