Menetou-Râtel

Identity

Menetou-Râtel (INSEE 18144) is in Cher (18), part of CC Pays Fort Sancerrois Val de Loire. Population 456 (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/18144-menetou-ratel

Vitality score

Vitality score 31.7/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 67 % of the 17,933 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, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

1 × Butcher (boucherie) (MAISON CHEVREAU). ^[3,4]

1 × Restaurant (RESTAURANT BAR A VINS AU BON LABOUREUR). ^[3,4]

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

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

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

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

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

Population 483 (2012) → 456 (2023): -5.6 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 483 (1990) → 456 (2023): -5.6 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 326, of which 20.2 % second homes and 12.9 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Sury-en-Vaux): 4.3 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Menetou-Râtel): 0.1 km to the north (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Sancerre): 6 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[10]

Pharmacy (Sancerre): 6.7 km to the east (straight line). ^[10]

Primary school (Menetou-Râtel): 0 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[9]

Climate

An average of 10 days a year at or above 30 °C and 50 days at or below 0 °C, over 20 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the SANCERRE weather station, 3.7 km away at 240 m; the village itself is at 309 m. ^[11]

The village sits 69 m above the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 5.71 °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 4 days a summer. ^[11]

Humidity measured at SANCERRE, 3.7 km away at 240 m, over 20 summers. ^[11]

That station sits 69 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 4.22 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[11]

An average of 884 mm of rain a year, spread over 125 days — about 7.1 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at SANCERRE, 3.7 km away at 240 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

What property sold for

41 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 95,000 € — 818 € per m² of built surface. ^[12]

The median across Cher is 956 € per m², so this commune sits below it. ^[12]

These are recorded sale prices, not valuations or asking prices, and a median over five years spans five different markets. Built surface excludes land, which carries much of a rural property's value.

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 18144/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 18144/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 18144/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 18144/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 18258
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 18144
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 18241
11. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
12. DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025