Balaruc-les-Bains

Hérault · CA Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée · INSEE 34023

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

Served 66.5/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 92 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Balaruc-les-Bains (INSEE 34023) is in Hérault (34), part of CA Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée. Population 7,139 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Ceintures urbaines (level 4). ^[2]

Data vintages: INSEE BPE 2025 · INSEE SIRENE 2026-09 · INSEE census (RP) 2023 · INSEE COG 2026 · INSEE density grid 2026 · Commune website 2026-10-24.

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/34023-balaruc-les-bains

Vitality score

Vitality score 66.5/100 — Served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 92 % of the 3,380 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	0.64	25	15.93
Social	0.95	20	18.95
Education	0.39	10	3.93
Health	0.7	10	6.96
Public & culture	0.31	5	1.54
Population trend	0.92	10	9.24
Housing mix	0	5	0

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 5 of 6

Eating out 1 of 1

Cafés and bars 1 of 1

Schools 2 of 3

Health 2 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 1 of 2

Everyday services 3 of 3

Lodging 2 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]

7 × Bakery (boulangerie) (LEVAIN VIVANT · LES P'TITS FRERES · LE FOUR CAMPAGNARD · LE PANIOL · LA POMME D'AMOUR). ^[3,4]

1 × Butcher (boucherie) (BOUCHERIE CHARCUTERIE TRAITEUR LES). ^[3,4]

8 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (LE LOCAL · LA PETITE TIELLERIE · ONE · STELAS · CHEZ L'AVEYRONNAIS). ^[3,4]

2 × Supermarket (AMAL DISTRIBUTION · INTERMARCHE). ^[3,4]

4 × Fishmonger (PALERM · CHAIX FLAVIA · DESSY). ^[3,4]

51 × Restaurant (MER ET THAU POISSONNERIE · C L'ENDROIT · LA FILLE DU JOEP · L'ASSIETTE BY CHRISTELLE ET STEPHANE · MAE). ^[3,4]

9 × Café / bar (LE SHAKER'S · MARINA CAFE · MONTANA CAFE · LE MISTRAL · LA CAVE BALARUCOISE). ^[4]

2 × Nursery school (maternelle) (ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE GEORGE SAND · ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE ROBINSON). ^[3]

2 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PUBLIQUE LE PETIT PRINCE · ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PUBLIQUE LOU PLANAS). ^[3]

30 × GP (médecin généraliste) (HELENE GOURDON, MÉDECIN · CHRISTINE RIVALLAND-LENTZ, MÉDECIN · FABRICE LE CAR, MÉDECIN · LAURENCE BERNARD-BIZOS, MÉDECIN · SERGE GROMOFF, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

2 × Pharmacy (PHARMACIE DE LA COLLINE · PHARMACIE DES THERMES). ^[3,4]

2 × Post office / agence postale (BALARUC LES ALOES AP · LA POSTE). ^[3]

1 × Library (MÉDIATHÈQUE DE BALARUC-LES-BAINS). ^[3]

2 × Gym / sports hall (SALLE MULTISPORT ALAIN COLAS · COMPLEXE SPORTIF DE PECH MEJA). ^[3]

2 × Bank (CAISSE EPARGNE PREVOYANCE LANGUEDOC ROUSSILLON · AGENCE DE BALARUC LES BAINS). ^[3]

15 × Hairdresser (L'ART DANS L'AME · SOCIETE D EXP SALON FRANCOISE · CHEVARIN ESTHEL · CAP'TIF). ^[3,4]

2 × Fuel station (STATION SERVICE). ^[3,4]

7 × Hotel (LE NEPTUNE · HOTEL RESTAURANT MARTINEZ · HOTEL BEL AIR · IBIS SETE BALARUC · BEST WESTERN-HOTEL DES THERMES). ^[3,4]

2 × Campsite (CAMPING LES VIGNES · CAMPING LE MAS DU PADRE). ^[3,4]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 2 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette), 9 × Restaurant, 1 × Pharmacy, 4 × Hairdresser, 2 × Hotel, 2 × Campsite.

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	7	LEVAIN VIVANT · LES P'TITS FRERES · LE FOUR CAMPAGNARD · LE PANIOL · LA POMME D'AMOUR	INSEE BPE 7 / INSEE SIRENE 9 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	1	BOUCHERIE CHARCUTERIE TRAITEUR LES	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	8	LE LOCAL · LA PETITE TIELLERIE · ONE · STELAS · CHEZ L'AVEYRONNAIS	INSEE BPE 8 / INSEE SIRENE 9 [3,4]
Supermarket	2	AMAL DISTRIBUTION · INTERMARCHE	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Cheese shop (fromagerie)	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Fishmonger	4	PALERM · CHAIX FLAVIA · DESSY	INSEE BPE 4 / INSEE SIRENE 6 [3,4]
Restaurant	51	MER ET THAU POISSONNERIE · C L'ENDROIT · LA FILLE DU JOEP · L'ASSIETTE BY CHRISTELLE ET STEPHANE · MAE	INSEE BPE 51 / INSEE SIRENE 78 [3,4]
Café / bar	9	LE SHAKER'S · MARINA CAFE · MONTANA CAFE · LE MISTRAL · LA CAVE BALARUCOISE	INSEE SIRENE 9 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	2	ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE GEORGE SAND · ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE ROBINSON	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	2	ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PUBLIQUE LE PETIT PRINCE · ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PUBLIQUE LOU PLANAS	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	30	HELENE GOURDON, MÉDECIN · CHRISTINE RIVALLAND-LENTZ, MÉDECIN · FABRICE LE CAR, MÉDECIN · LAURENCE BERNARD-BIZOS, MÉDECIN · SERGE GROMOFF, MÉDECIN	INSEE BPE 30 [3]
Pharmacy	2	PHARMACIE DE LA COLLINE · PHARMACIE DES THERMES	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 3 [3,4]
Nurse	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Dentist	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Post office / agence postale	2	BALARUC LES ALOES AP · LA POSTE	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
Library	1	MÉDIATHÈQUE DE BALARUC-LES-BAINS	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Gym / sports hall	2	SALLE MULTISPORT ALAIN COLAS · COMPLEXE SPORTIF DE PECH MEJA	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
Swimming pool	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Bank	2	CAISSE EPARGNE PREVOYANCE LANGUEDOC ROUSSILLON · AGENCE DE BALARUC LES BAINS	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
Hairdresser	15	L'ART DANS L'AME · SOCIETE D EXP SALON FRANCOISE · CHEVARIN ESTHEL · CAP'TIF	INSEE BPE 15 / INSEE SIRENE 18 [3,4]
Fuel station	2	STATION SERVICE	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Hotel	7	LE NEPTUNE · HOTEL RESTAURANT MARTINEZ · HOTEL BEL AIR · IBIS SETE BALARUC · BEST WESTERN-HOTEL DES THERMES	INSEE BPE 7 / INSEE SIRENE 18 [3,4]
Campsite	2	CAMPING LES VIGNES · CAMPING LE MAS DU PADRE	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 4 [3,4]

Market and village life

Weekly market (reported, unverified): Tuesday, Friday place du Mail et dans le parc Charles-de-Gaulle. ^[5]

Trajectory

1968: 1,830 2023: 7,139 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 6,886 (2012) → 7,139 (2023): 3.7 % over 10 years. ^[6,1]

Population 5,013 (1990) → 7,139 (2023): 42.4 % over 30 years. ^[7,1]

Dwellings (2023): 7,729, of which 54.3 % second homes and 1.2 % vacant. ^[8]

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 (Balaruc-les-Bains): 0 km to the east (straight line). ^[9]

Food shop (Balaruc-les-Bains): 0.1 km to the south (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Balaruc-les-Bains): 0.2 km to the south (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Balaruc-les-Bains): 0.2 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Balaruc-les-Bains): 0.2 km to the south (straight line). ^[9]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 26.1

Days at or below 0 °C 3.2▸

Muggy days a summer 24.4▸

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 26 days a year at or above 30 °C and 3 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the SETE weather station, 5.1 km away at 75 m; the village itself is at 5 m. ^[10]

The village sits 70 m below the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 5.7 °C per km of altitude before the days were counted. Expect the result to be within about 0.68 °C. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 24 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at SETE, 5.1 km away at 75 m, over 30 summers. ^[10]

That station sits 70 m above the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.26 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[10]

An average of 515 mm of rain a year, spread over 52 days — about 9.9 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at SETE, 5.1 km away at 75 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

Uncertainties

The market day comes from the commune's own website and has not been confirmed by a second source. ^[5]

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 34023/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
Commune website 2026-10— https://www.ville-balaruc-les-bains.com/le-marche-de-plein-air— “les marchés en plein air de Balaruc-les-Bains animent toute l'année le centre-ville les mardis et vendredis. Ils se déroulent dans le cœur piétonnier de la ville, place du Mail et dans le parc Charles-de-Gaulle”(unverified)
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 34023/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 34023/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 34023/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 34023
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
Palavas-les-Flots	34	23 km NE	6,133	69.1	Served	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 74 % · winter 76 % · humidity 36 %
Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer	83	187 km E	6,000	55.1	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel more humid.summer 92 % · winter 97 % · humidity 79 %
Wimereux	62	830 km N	6,256	51.4	Partly served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 38 % · winter 85 % · humidity 0 %
Arcachon	33	411 km W	11,092	65.2	Served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 64 % · winter 91 % · humidity 21 %
Bidart	64	425 km W	7,689	66.6	Served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 54 % · winter 95 % · humidity 86 %
Saint-Cyprien	66	107 km SW	12,068	62.3	Served	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 49 % · winter 84 % · humidity 71 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Palavas-les-Flots	34	23 km NE	6,133	69.1	Served	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 74 % · winter 76 % · humidity 36 %
Saint-Cyprien	66	107 km SW	12,068	62.3	Served	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 49 % · winter 84 % · humidity 71 %
Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer	83	187 km E	6,000	55.1	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel more humid.summer 92 % · winter 97 % · humidity 79 %
Arcachon	33	411 km W	11,092	65.2	Served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 64 % · winter 91 % · humidity 21 %
Bidart	64	425 km W	7,689	66.6	Served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 54 % · winter 95 % · humidity 86 %
Wimereux	62	830 km N	6,256	51.4	Partly served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 38 % · winter 85 % · humidity 0 %

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 Balaruc-les-Bains'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
Marseillan	34	16 km SW	8,414	71.6	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 85 % · humidity 86 %
Poussan	34	5.0 km N	6,797	63.4	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Cap-d'Ail	06	302 km E	4,482	43.3	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 97 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle	64	423 km W	7,264	66.2	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 85 % · humidity 86 %
Gigean	34	6.9 km NE	6,639	61.8	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Beausoleil	06	304 km E	11,936	52.7	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 99 % · humidity 86 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/34023-balaruc-les-bains