Palaja

Aude · CA Carcassonne Agglo · INSEE 11272

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

Partly served 51/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 67 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Palaja (INSEE 11272) is in Aude (11), part of CA Carcassonne Agglo. Population 2,722 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Ceintures urbaines (level 4). ^[2]

Data vintages: INSEE BPE 2025 · INSEE SIRENE 2026-09 · INSEE census (RP) 2023 · INSEE COG 2026 · INSEE density grid 2026 · Commune website 2026-10-24.

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/11272-palaja

Vitality score

Vitality score 51/100 — Partly served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 67 % of the 7,746 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	0.39	25	9.84
Social	0.39	20	7.77
Education	0.39	10	3.93
Health	0.51	10	5.13
Public & culture	0.39	5	1.97
Population trend	1	10	10
Housing mix	0.95	5	4.75

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 3 of 6

Eating out 1 of 1

Cafés and bars 0 of 1

Schools 2 of 3

Health 2 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 0 of 2

Everyday services 1 of 3

Lodging 1 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) (L'ART DU FOURNIL). ^[3,4]

1 × Butcher (boucherie). ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (ROUVILLE). ^[3,4]

3 × Restaurant (SARL S COMME · LA BOITE A LEON · L'ALCHIMISTE). ^[3,4]

1 × Nursery school (maternelle) (ECOLE MATERNELLE). ^[3]

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

2 × GP (médecin généraliste) (MARC MOURET, MÉDECIN · OLIVIER VERNOUX, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

1 × Pharmacy (SELARL PHARMACIE DU BRIOLET). ^[3]

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

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

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

1 × Hotel (HOTEL CHATEAU PALAJA). ^[3,4]

Not found in the commune: Supermarket, Café / bar. ^[3,4]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	1	L'ART DU FOURNIL	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	1		INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	1	ROUVILLE	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [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	3	SARL S COMME · LA BOITE A LEON · L'ALCHIMISTE	INSEE BPE 3 / INSEE SIRENE 5 [3,4]
Café / bar	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	1	ECOLE MATERNELLE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PUBLIQUE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	2	MARC MOURET, MÉDECIN · OLIVIER VERNOUX, MÉDECIN	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
Pharmacy	1	SELARL PHARMACIE DU BRIOLET	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3]
Nurse	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Dentist	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Post office / agence postale	1	PALAJA AP	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	1	BIBLIOTHÈQUE MUNICIPALE DE PALAJA	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	1	ATELIER COIFFURE ZAGO	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 3 [3,4]
Fuel station	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Hotel	1	HOTEL CHATEAU PALAJA	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [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

1968: 269 2023: 2,722 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 2,146 (2012) → 2,722 (2023): 26.8 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 1,503 (1990) → 2,722 (2023): 81.1 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 1,215, of which 2.5 % second homes and 2.6 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Bakery, Food shop, GP, Pharmacy Primary school — 0.5 km NW 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 (Palaja): 0.1 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Palaja): 0 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Palaja): 0.4 km to the south (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Palaja): 0.1 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Palaja): 0.5 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 37.6

Days at or below 0 °C 19.9

Muggy days a summer 9.7

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 38 days a year at or above 30 °C and 20 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[9]

Measured at the CARCASSONNE weather station, 8.7 km away at 128 m; the village itself is at 166 m. ^[9]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 10 days a summer. ^[9]

Humidity measured at CARCASSONNE, 8.7 km away at 128 m, over 30 summers. ^[9]

An average of 637 mm of rain a year, spread over 88 days — about 7.2 mm on a day it rains. ^[9]

Rainfall measured at CARCASSONNE, 8.7 km away at 128 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[9]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11272/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11272/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11272/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11272/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 11272
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
La Terrasse	38	370 km NE	2,470	55.7	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.summer 64 % · winter 62 %
Cadolive	13	257 km E	2,236	54.8	Partly served	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 92 % · winter 81 % · humidity 43 %
Mercury	73	419 km NE	3,495	41.4	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 44 % · winter 38 % · humidity 29 %
Fourques	30	188 km E	2,680	62.3	Served	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 62 % · winter 97 % · humidity 100 %
Rodilhan	30	180 km NE	2,799	51.8	Partly served	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 36 % · winter 100 % · humidity 79 %
Gargas	84	253 km E	3,035	37.9	Few services	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 46 % · winter 31 % · humidity 29 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Rodilhan	30	180 km NE	2,799	51.8	Partly served	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 36 % · winter 100 % · humidity 79 %
Fourques	30	188 km E	2,680	62.3	Served	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 62 % · winter 97 % · humidity 100 %
Gargas	84	253 km E	3,035	37.9	Few services	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 46 % · winter 31 % · humidity 29 %
Cadolive	13	257 km E	2,236	54.8	Partly served	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 92 % · winter 81 % · humidity 43 %
La Terrasse	38	370 km NE	2,470	55.7	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.summer 64 % · winter 62 %
Mercury	73	419 km NE	3,495	41.4	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 44 % · winter 38 % · humidity 29 %

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 Palaja'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
Roquettes	31	90 km NW	4,280	42.6	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 93 % · humidity 86 %
Pézilla-la-Rivière	66	62 km SE	4,129	49.9	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 93 % · humidity 86 %
Villegailhenc	11	11 km N	1,718	40.1	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 100 % · humidity 100 %
Villemoustaussou	11	9.0 km N	4,401	45.2	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 100 % · humidity 100 %
Lacroix-Falgarde	31	87 km NW	2,030	49.8	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 93 % · humidity 86 %
Pinsaguel	31	89 km NW	2,786	69	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 93 % · humidity 86 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/11272-palaja