Mérinchal

Creuse · CC Marche et Combraille en Aquitaine · INSEE 23131

A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink.

Partly served 44.2/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 85 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Mérinchal (INSEE 23131) is in Creuse (23), part of CC Marche et Combraille en Aquitaine. Population 654 (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/23131-merinchal

Vitality score

Vitality score 44.2/100 — Partly served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 85 % of the 16,723 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	0.5	25	12.47
Social	0.32	20	6.32
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0.63	10	6.32
Public & culture	0.32	5	1.58
Population trend	0.22	10	2.21
Housing mix	0.47	5	2.37

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 2 of 6

Eating out 0 of 1

Cafés and bars 1 of 1

Schools 2 of 3

Health 2 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 0 of 2

Sport 0 of 2

Everyday services 1 of 3

Lodging 1 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, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

2 × Bakery (boulangerie) (PRUGNARD · LA PETITE GRANGE A PAIN). ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (MAISON MOUILLERAT). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar. ^[4]

1 × Nursery school (maternelle) (ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE). ^[3]

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

1 × GP (médecin généraliste) (DOMINIQUE CHANSON, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

1 × Pharmacy (PHARMACIE BENQUET). ^[3,4]

1 × Post office / agence postale (LA POSTE). ^[3]

1 × Hairdresser (2 MECHES AVEC VOUS). ^[3,4]

1 × Campsite (CAMPING MUNICIPAL CHATEAU DE LA MOTHE). ^[3,4]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Butcher (boucherie).

Not found in the commune: Butcher (boucherie), Supermarket, Restaurant, Library. ^[3,4]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	2	PRUGNARD · LA PETITE GRANGE A PAIN	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	1	MAISON MOUILLERAT	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [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	1		INSEE SIRENE 1 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	1	ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	1	DOMINIQUE CHANSON, MÉDECIN	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Pharmacy	1	PHARMACIE BENQUET	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Nurse	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Dentist	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Post office / agence postale	1	LA POSTE	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	2 MECHES AVEC VOUS	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	1	CAMPING MUNICIPAL CHATEAU DE LA MOTHE	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

1968: 1,187 2023: 654 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 737 (2012) → 654 (2023): -11.3 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 907 (1990) → 654 (2023): -27.9 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 575, of which 26.3 % second homes and 12.3 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Bakery, Food shop, Primary school, GP, Pharmacy 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 (Mérinchal): 0.3 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Mérinchal): 0.2 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Mérinchal): 0.1 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Mérinchal): 0.2 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Mérinchal): 0.1 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 14.1

Days at or below 0 °C 67.3

Muggy days a summer 0.1

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 67 days at or below 0 °C, over 15 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[9]

Measured at the LUPERSAT_SAPC weather station, 10.7 km away at 610 m; the village itself is at 703 m. ^[9]

The village sits 93 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 0 days a summer. ^[9]

Humidity measured at AUZANCES_SAPC, 11.8 km away at 564 m, over 12 summers. ^[9]

That station sits 139 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 1,015 mm of rain a year, spread over 143 days — about 7.1 mm on a day it rains. ^[9]

Rainfall measured at MERINCHAL, 2.5 km away at 703 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 — 23131/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 23131/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 23131/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 23131/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 23131
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
La Croisille-sur-Briance	87	77 km SW	728	51.5	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 86 % · humidity 86 %
Courdemanche	72	257 km NW	623	39.8	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.summer 95 % · winter 50 %
Dournazac	87	126 km W	672	56.5	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 62 % · humidity 86 %
Fossemagne	24	146 km SW	556	43.4	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 74 % · winter 49 % · humidity 64 %
Saint-Dier-d'Auvergne	63	82 km E	556	43.9	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 74 % · humidity 93 %
Sardent	23	51 km W	760	56.6	Partly served	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 77 % · humidity 93 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Sardent	23	51 km W	760	56.6	Partly served	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 77 % · humidity 93 %
La Croisille-sur-Briance	87	77 km SW	728	51.5	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 86 % · humidity 86 %
Saint-Dier-d'Auvergne	63	82 km E	556	43.9	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 74 % · humidity 93 %
Dournazac	87	126 km W	672	56.5	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 62 % · humidity 86 %
Fossemagne	24	146 km SW	556	43.4	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 74 % · winter 49 % · humidity 64 %
Courdemanche	72	257 km NW	623	39.8	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.summer 95 % · winter 50 %

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 Mérinchal'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
La Croisille-sur-Briance	87	77 km SW	728	51.5	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 86 % · humidity 86 %
Clugnat	23	52 km NW	652	36	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 %
Soumans	23	45 km N	611	51.8	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 97 % · humidity 93 %
Moutier-Malcard	23	68 km NW	558	30.3	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 96 % · humidity 93 %
Augerolles	63	90 km E	862	50	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 %
Montsauche-les-Settons	58	186 km NE	480	54.5	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 89 % · humidity 93 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/23131-merinchal