Ussel

Identity

Ussel (INSEE 15244) is in Cantal (15), part of CC de Saint-Flour. Population 453 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Rural à habitat dispersé (level 6). ^[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/15244-ussel

Vitality score

Vitality score 29.5/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 61 % of the 17,915 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

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

1 × Bakery (boulangerie). ^[3,4]

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

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

1 × Library (RELAIS-LECTURE AGENCE POSTALE). ^[3]

1 × Fuel station (STATION SERVICE). ^[3]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Bakery (boulangerie), 1 × Restaurant, 1 × Hairdresser.

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

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

Population 482 (2012) → 453 (2023): -6 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 400 (1990) → 453 (2023): 13.3 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 250, of which 10 % second homes and 9.6 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Neussargues-Moissac): 5.8 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Valuéjols): 3.2 km to the south (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Valuéjols): 3.1 km to the south (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Valuéjols): 3 km to the south (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Ussel): 0 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[10]

Climate

An average of 10 days a year at or above 30 °C and 98 days at or below 0 °C, over 26 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the VALUEJOLS weather station, 3.1 km away at 1,074 m; the village itself is at 1,022 m. ^[11]

The village sits 52 m below 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. ^[11]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. ^[11]

Humidity measured at COLTINES, 4.4 km away at 979 m, over 27 summers. ^[11]

An average of 890 mm of rain a year, spread over 107 days — about 8.3 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at VALUEJOLS, 3.1 km away at 1,074 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 15244/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 15244/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 15244/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 15244/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 15141
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 15248
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 15244
11. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024