Montchenu

Identity

Montchenu (INSEE 26194) is in Drôme (26), part of CA Arche Agglo. Population 605 (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/26194-montchenu

Vitality score

Vitality score 30.6/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: medium (sources disagree on Restaurant).

Better served than 54 % of the 17,052 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 school and somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop. ^[3,4]

1 × Restaurant (SDDR). ^[3,4]

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

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

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

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

Population 582 (2012) → 605 (2023): 4 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 389 (1990) → 605 (2023): 55.5 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 314, of which 15.9 % second homes and 1.6 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Crépol): 4.7 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Crépol): 4 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Saint-Avit): 4.9 km to the west (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Châteauneuf-de-Galaure): 6.7 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[10]

Primary school (Montchenu): 0 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[11]

Climate

An average of 24 days a year at or above 30 °C and 43 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[12]

Measured at the ST-CHRISTOPHE-L_SAPC weather station, 4.9 km away at 452 m; the village itself is at 373 m. ^[12]

The village sits 79 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. ^[12]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 1 day a summer. ^[12]

Humidity measured at ST-SORLIN-EN-VA, 11.5 km away at 237 m, over 24 summers. ^[12]

That station sits 136 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[12]

An average of 982 mm of rain a year, spread over 108 days — about 9.1 mm on a day it rains. ^[12]

Rainfall measured at ST-CHRISTOPHE-L_SAPC, 4.9 km away at 452 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[12]

Uncertainties

sources disagree on Restaurant

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 26194/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 26194/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 26194/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 26194/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 26107
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 26293
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 26083
11. INSEE BPE 2025 — 26194
12. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024