Les Mars

Creuse · CC Marche et Combraille en Aquitaine · INSEE 23123

A food shop and somewhere to eat or drink, but no school.

No daily shops 19.3/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 62 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Les Mars (INSEE 23123) is in Creuse (23), part of CC Marche et Combraille en Aquitaine. Population 180 (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/23123-les-mars

Vitality score

Vitality score 19.3/100 — No daily shops (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 62 % of the 15,366 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	0.21	25	5.27
Social	0.32	20	6.32
Education	0	10	0
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.32	5	1.58
Population trend	0.16	10	1.57
Housing mix	0.33	5	1.63

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 1 of 6

Eating out 1 of 1

Cafés and bars 0 of 1

Schools 0 of 3

Health 0 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 0 of 2

Sport 0 of 2

Everyday services 1 of 3

Lodging 0 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 and somewhere to eat or drink, but no school. ^[3,4]

1 × Bakery (boulangerie). ^[3,4]

1 × Restaurant (CUISINES DES MARS). ^[3,4]

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

1 × Hairdresser. ^[3,4]

Not found in the commune: Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Café / bar, 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)	1		INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [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	1	CUISINES DES MARS	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Café / bar	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [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	LES MARS AP	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		INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Fuel station	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Hotel	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [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: 372 2023: 180 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 196 (2012) → 180 (2023): -8.2 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 274 (1990) → 180 (2023): -34.3 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 169, of which 33.7 % second homes and 9.5 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

Bakery — 2.2 km NEFood shop — 5.3 km NPharmacy — 5.3 km NGP — 5.6 km NPrimary school — 5.7 km N 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 (Les Mars): 2.2 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Auzances): 5.3 km to the north (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Auzances): 5.6 km to the north (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Auzances): 5.3 km to the north (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Auzances): 5.7 km to the north (straight line). ^[9]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 14.4

Days at or below 0 °C 68.7

Muggy days a summer 0.6

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 14 days a year at or above 30 °C and 69 days at or below 0 °C, over 28 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the AUZANCES_SAPC weather station, 4.6 km away at 564 m; the village itself is at 599 m. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 1 day a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at AUZANCES_SAPC, 4.6 km away at 564 m, over 12 summers. ^[10]

An average of 900 mm of rain a year, spread over 134 days — about 6.7 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at AUZANCES_SAPC, 4.6 km away at 564 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 23123/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 23123/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 23123/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 23123/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 23123
INSEE BPE 2025 — 23013
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
Petit-Bersac	24	191 km SW	184	26	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 64 % · winter 34 % · humidity 50 %
Cressy-sur-Somme	71	133 km NE	175	24.6	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 76 % · humidity 100 %
Clavières	15	127 km SE	184	23.1	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 31 % · humidity 93 %
Tourtouse	09	339 km S	169	21.4	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 74 % · winter 99 % · humidity 71 %
Montfleur	39	231 km E	162	31.1	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 80 % · humidity 100 %
La Villetelle	23	13 km SW	163	14.4	No daily shops	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 78 % · humidity 100 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
La Villetelle	23	13 km SW	163	14.4	No daily shops	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 78 % · humidity 100 %
Clavières	15	127 km SE	184	23.1	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 31 % · humidity 93 %
Cressy-sur-Somme	71	133 km NE	175	24.6	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 76 % · humidity 100 %
Petit-Bersac	24	191 km SW	184	26	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 64 % · winter 34 % · humidity 50 %
Montfleur	39	231 km E	162	31.1	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 80 % · humidity 100 %
Tourtouse	09	339 km S	169	21.4	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 74 % · winter 99 % · humidity 71 %

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 Les Mars'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
Saint-Cirgues-la-Loutre	19	105 km S	188	16.5	No daily shops	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 92 % · humidity 100 %
Pensol	87	135 km W	186	16.2	No daily shops	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 86 % · humidity 86 %
Amont-et-Effreney	70	376 km NE	168	12.2	No daily shops	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 100 % · humidity 100 %
Aunay-en-Bazois	58	157 km NE	231	13.4	No daily shops	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 99 % · humidity 86 %
Epiry	58	164 km NE	225	33.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Sexcles	19	110 km S	228	14.9	No daily shops	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/23123-les-mars