Esse
Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school.
Few services 22.4/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 33 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
Esse (INSEE 16131) is in Charente (16), part of CC de Charente Limousine. Population 518 (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/16131-esse
Vitality score
Vitality score 22.4/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: high.
Better served than 33 % of the 17,686 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 | 0.43 | 20 | 8.65 |
| Education | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Health | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Public & culture | 0.32 | 5 | 1.58 |
| Population trend | 0.53 | 10 | 5.3 |
| Housing mix | 0.7 | 5 | 3.52 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school. [3,4]
2 × Café / bar (L'ESTAMINET). [4]
1 × Collège (ECOLE SECONDAIRE PRIVEE COURS ALIENOR D'AQUITAINE). [3]
1 × Post office / agence postale (ESSE RP). [3]
1 × Hairdresser (CAMILLE COIFFURE & BARBE). [3,4]
Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Hairdresser.
Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Restaurant, Nursery school (maternelle), 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 | 2 | L'ESTAMINET | INSEE SIRENE 2 [4] |
| Nursery school (maternelle) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Primary school (élémentaire) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Collège | 1 | ECOLE SECONDAIRE PRIVEE COURS ALIENOR D'AQUITAINE | INSEE BPE 1 [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 | ESSE RP | 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 | 1 | CAMILLE COIFFURE & BARBE | INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [3,4] |
| Fuel station | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Hotel | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [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 500 (2012) → 518 (2023): 3.6 % over 10 years. [5,1]
Population 503 (1990) → 518 (2023): 3 % over 30 years. [6,1]
Dwellings (2023): 344, of which 14.8 % second homes and 10.8 % vacant. [7]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Confolens): 4.3 km to the south-west (straight line). [8]
Food shop (Confolens): 4.3 km to the south-west (straight line). [8]
GP (Confolens): 3.9 km to the south-west (straight line). [8]
Pharmacy (Confolens): 4.2 km to the south-west (straight line). [8]
Primary school (Confolens): 4.2 km to the west (straight line). [8]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 16 days a year at or above 30 °C and 53 days at or below 0 °C, over 10 complete years in 1995–2024. [9]
Measured at the CONFOLENS weather station, 4.1 km away at 141 m; the village itself is at 221 m. [9]
The village sits 80 m above the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 4.94 °C per km of altitude before the days were counted. Expect the result to be within about 0.68 °C. [9]
Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 4 days a summer. [9]
Humidity measured at CONFOLENS, 4.1 km away at 141 m, over 10 summers. [9]
That station sits 80 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 5.46 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. [9]
An average of 951 mm of rain a year, spread over 130 days — about 7.3 mm on a day it rains. [9]
Rainfall measured at CONFOLENS, 4.1 km away at 141 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 — 16131/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 16131/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 16131/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 16131/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 16106
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abzac | 16 | 7.9 km N | 518 | 18.4 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 % |
| Champgenéteux | 53 | 264 km N | 492 | 28.1 | Few services | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 82 % · winter 99 % · humidity 79 % |
| Manot | 16 | 12 km SW | 555 | 11.4 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 % |
| Beyssenac | 19 | 83 km SE | 370 | 18.7 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 % |
| Sérignac | 82 | 236 km S | 518 | 28.4 | Few services | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 62 % · winter 68 % · humidity 100 % |
| Désertines | 53 | 296 km NW | 468 | 14.9 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and milder winters.summer 74 % · winter 77 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abzac | 16 | 7.9 km N | 518 | 18.4 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 % |
| Manot | 16 | 12 km SW | 555 | 11.4 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 % |
| Beyssenac | 19 | 83 km SE | 370 | 18.7 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 % |
| Sérignac | 82 | 236 km S | 518 | 28.4 | Few services | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 62 % · winter 68 % · humidity 100 % |
| Champgenéteux | 53 | 264 km N | 492 | 28.1 | Few services | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 82 % · winter 99 % · humidity 79 % |
| Désertines | 53 | 296 km NW | 468 | 14.9 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and milder winters.summer 74 % · winter 77 % |
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 Esse'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abzac | 16 | 7.9 km N | 518 | 18.4 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 % |
| Manot | 16 | 12 km SW | 555 | 11.4 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 % |
| Beyssenac | 19 | 83 km SE | 370 | 18.7 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 % |
| Oradour-Fanais | 16 | 11 km NE | 342 | 19 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 % |
| Gizeux | 37 | 157 km N | 382 | 18.6 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 89 % · humidity 93 % |
| Loché-sur-Indrois | 37 | 124 km N | 482 | 26.7 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 91 % · humidity 93 % |
Elsewhere
Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/16131-esse