Marchastel

Identity

Marchastel (INSEE 15116) is in Cantal (15), part of CC du Pays Gentiane. Population 131 (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/15116-marchastel

Vitality score

Vitality score 9.6/100 — No daily shops (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 17 % of the 12,956 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. ^[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 145 (2012) → 131 (2023): -9.7 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 216 (1990) → 131 (2023): -39.4 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 170, of which 42.4 % second homes and 20 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Apchon): 4.8 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Riom-ès-Montagnes): 4.4 km to the west (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Riom-ès-Montagnes): 4.4 km to the west (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Condat): 6.8 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[10]

Primary school (Lugarde): 2.9 km to the east (straight line). ^[11]

Climate

An average of 14 days a year at or above 30 °C and 108 days at or below 0 °C, over 17 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[12]

Measured at the RIOM-MONTAGNES weather station, 4.7 km away at 837 m; the village itself is at 904 m. ^[12]

The village sits 67 m above the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 6.06 °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 0 days a summer. ^[12]

Humidity measured at MARCENAT, 8.7 km away at 1,075 m, over 29 summers. ^[12]

That station sits 171 m above the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[12]

An average of 1,236 mm of rain a year, spread over 139 days — about 8.9 mm on a day it rains. ^[12]

Rainfall measured at RIOM-MONTAGNES, 4.7 km away at 837 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[12]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 15116/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 15116/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 15116/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 15116/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 15009
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 15162
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 15054
11. INSEE BPE 2025 — 15110
12. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024