La Vacquerie-et-Saint-Martin-de-Castries
Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school.
Few services 28.2/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 84 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
La Vacquerie-et-Saint-Martin-de-Castries (INSEE 34317) is in Hérault (34), part of CC Lodévois et Larzac. Population 210 (2023). [1]
INSEE density class: Rural à habitat dispersé (level 6). [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/34317-la-vacquerie-et-saint-martin-de-castries
Vitality score
Vitality score 28.2/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: high.
Better served than 84 % of the 16,281 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 | 25 | 0 |
| Social | 0.49 | 20 | 9.82 |
| Education | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Health | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Public & culture | 0.63 | 5 | 3.16 |
| Population trend | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Housing mix | 0.19 | 5 | 0.96 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school. [3,4]
4 × Restaurant (EL RANCHO LARZAC · LA CARDABELLE · BNL LA ROULOTTE · ALBA EVENEMENTS). [3,4]
1 × Post office / agence postale (LA VACQUERIE ET ST MARTIN AP). [3]
1 × Library (BIBLIOTHÈQUE LA GRANGE AUX LIVRES). [3]
Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 3 × Restaurant.
Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), Primary school (élémentaire), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy. [3,4]
All 25 service types, with per-source counts
| Type | Count | Names | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakery (boulangerie) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [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 | 4 | EL RANCHO LARZAC · LA CARDABELLE · BNL LA ROULOTTE · ALBA EVENEMENTS | INSEE BPE 4 / INSEE SIRENE 5 [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 | LA VACQUERIE ET ST MARTIN AP | INSEE BPE 1 [3] |
| Library | 1 | BIBLIOTHÈQUE LA GRANGE AUX LIVRES | INSEE BPE 1 [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 | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Fuel station | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Hotel | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [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
Population 171 (2012) → 210 (2023): 22.8 % over 10 years. [5,1]
Population 103 (1990) → 210 (2023): 103.9 % over 30 years. [6,1]
Dwellings (2023): 188, of which 40.4 % second homes and 1.1 % vacant. [7]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert): 9.4 km to the south-east (straight line). [8]
Food shop (Saint-Étienne-de-Gourgas): 6.8 km to the west (straight line). [9]
GP (Soubès): 9.5 km to the west (straight line). [10]
Pharmacy (Lodève): 12.7 km to the south-west (straight line). [11]
Primary school (Saint-Privat): 4.3 km to the south-west (straight line). [12]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 31 days a year at or above 30 °C and 51 days at or below 0 °C, over 17 complete years in 1995–2024. [13]
Measured at the LA VACQUERIE_SAPC weather station, 0.3 km away at 620 m; the village itself is at 631 m. [13]
Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 2 days a summer. [13]
Humidity measured at SOUMONT, 12.9 km away at 252 m, over 28 summers. [13]
That station sits 379 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.26 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. [13]
An average of 1,243 mm of rain a year, spread over 87 days — about 14.3 mm on a day it rains. [13]
Rainfall measured at LA VACQUERIE_SAPC, 0.3 km away at 620 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. [13]
What property sold for
28 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 131,452 € — 1,432 € per m² of built surface. [14]
The median across Hérault is 2,750 € per m², so this commune sits below it. [14]
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
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 34317/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 34317/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 34317/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 34317/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 34261
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 34251
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 34304
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 34142
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 34286
- Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
- DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnas | 07 | 113 km NE | 209 | 17.3 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 84 % · humidity 86 % |
| Dornas | 07 | 138 km NE | 195 | 14.2 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 72 % · humidity 93 % |
| Cazals | 82 | 144 km W | 236 | 22.3 | Few services | Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 21 % · winter 88 % · humidity 79 % |
| Davejean | 11 | 115 km SW | 163 | 21.3 | Few services | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 85 % · winter 57 % · humidity 71 % |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Chomeil | 15 | 186 km N | 241 | 16.4 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 54 % · humidity 86 % |
| Beaufort | 34 | 79 km SW | 214 | 24 | Few services | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 28 % · winter 59 % · humidity 57 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaufort | 34 | 79 km SW | 214 | 24 | Few services | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 28 % · winter 59 % · humidity 57 % |
| Barnas | 07 | 113 km NE | 209 | 17.3 | No daily shops | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 84 % · humidity 86 % |
| Davejean | 11 | 115 km SW | 163 | 21.3 | Few services | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 85 % · winter 57 % · humidity 71 % |
| Dornas | 07 | 138 km NE | 195 | 14.2 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 72 % · humidity 93 % |
| Cazals | 82 | 144 km W | 236 | 22.3 | Few services | Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 21 % · winter 88 % · humidity 79 % |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Chomeil | 15 | 186 km N | 241 | 16.4 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 54 % · humidity 86 % |
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 La Vacquerie-et-Saint-Martin-de-Castries'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-Félix-de-Sorgues | 12 | 40 km W | 204 | 24 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 % |
| Casalabriva | 2A | 501 km SE | 235 | 31.1 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 95 % · humidity 93 % |
| Saint-Jurs | 04 | 220 km E | 140 | 17.4 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 93 % · humidity 86 % |
| Estoher | 66 | 154 km SW | 163 | 12.8 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 91 % · humidity 86 % |
| Cortevaix | 71 | 319 km N | 247 | 12.4 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 88 % · humidity 100 % |
| Eyzahut | 26 | 151 km NE | 151 | 20.4 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 % |
Elsewhere
Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/34317-la-vacquerie-et-saint-martin-de-castries