Merlas
Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school.
Few services 23.8/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 42 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
Merlas (INSEE 38228) is in Isère (38), part of CA du Pays Voironnais. Population 465 (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/38228-merlas
Vitality score
Vitality score 23.8/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: high.
Better served than 42 % of the 17,947 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 | 0.48 | 20 | 9.5 |
| Education | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Health | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Public & culture | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Population trend | 0.72 | 10 | 7.2 |
| Housing mix | 0.7 | 5 | 3.51 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school. [3,4]
3 × Restaurant (AUBERGE DE LA FONTAINE). [4,3]
Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Butcher (boucherie), 1 × 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, Post office / agence postale, Library. [3,4]
All 25 service types, with per-source counts
| Type | Count | Names | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakery (boulangerie) | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Butcher (boucherie) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4] | |
| Grocery (épicerie / supérette) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,3] | |
| Supermarket | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,3] | |
| Cheese shop (fromagerie) | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 0 [3] | |
| Fishmonger | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,3] | |
| Restaurant | 3 | AUBERGE DE LA FONTAINE | INSEE BPE 3 / INSEE SIRENE 5 [4,3] |
| Café / bar | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 0 [3] | |
| Nursery school (maternelle) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Primary school (élémentaire) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Collège | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| GP (médecin généraliste) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Pharmacy | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,3] | |
| Nurse | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Dentist | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Post office / agence postale | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Library | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Cinema | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Gym / sports hall | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Swimming pool | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Bank | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Hairdresser | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,3] | |
| Fuel station | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,3] | |
| Hotel | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,3] | |
| Campsite | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,3] |
Market and village life
Market day: unknown — nothing found in the datasets or on the commune website.
Trajectory
Population 496 (2012) → 465 (2023): -6.2 % over 10 years. [5,1]
Population 381 (1990) → 465 (2023): 22 % over 30 years. [6,1]
Dwellings (2023): 281, of which 14.9 % second homes and 8.9 % vacant. [7]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Saint-Geoire-en-Valdaine): 2.4 km to the north-west (straight line). [8]
Food shop (Velanne): 3.5 km to the north (straight line). [9]
GP (Saint-Geoire-en-Valdaine): 3.1 km to the north-west (straight line). [8]
Pharmacy (Saint-Geoire-en-Valdaine): 2.4 km to the north-west (straight line). [8]
Primary school (Saint-Geoire-en-Valdaine): 2.6 km to the north-west (straight line). [8]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 16 days a year at or above 30 °C and 96 days at or below 0 °C, over 17 complete years in 1995–2024. [10]
Measured at the ST AUPRE_SAPC weather station, 5.9 km away at 450 m; the village itself is at 630 m. [10]
The village sits 180 m above 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. [10]
Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 1 day a summer. [10]
Humidity measured at COUBLEVIE, 11.3 km away at 300 m, over 19 summers. [10]
That station sits 330 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. [10]
An average of 1,381 mm of rain a year, spread over 124 days — about 11.1 mm on a day it rains. [10]
Rainfall measured at ST AUPRE_SAPC, 5.9 km away at 450 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 — 38228/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38228/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38228/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38228/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 38386
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 38531
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parleboscq | 40 | 477 km W | 451 | 18 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 59 % · winter 20 % · humidity 64 % |
| Agnac | 47 | 424 km W | 482 | 20.3 | Few services | Warmer summers and milder winters.summer 26 % · winter 24 % |
| Colombiers-du-Plessis | 53 | 593 km NW | 482 | 15.4 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 74 % · winter 19 % · humidity 100 % |
| Le Fraysse | 81 | 309 km SW | 421 | 18.1 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 45 % · humidity 86 % |
| Saint-Hymetière-sur-Valouse | 39 | 102 km N | 409 | 25.8 | Few services | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 84 % · humidity 93 % |
| Val-de-Vie | 14 | 570 km NW | 502 | 19.6 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 82 % · winter 12 % · humidity 100 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Hymetière-sur-Valouse | 39 | 102 km N | 409 | 25.8 | Few services | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 84 % · humidity 93 % |
| Le Fraysse | 81 | 309 km SW | 421 | 18.1 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 45 % · humidity 86 % |
| Agnac | 47 | 424 km W | 482 | 20.3 | Few services | Warmer summers and milder winters.summer 26 % · winter 24 % |
| Parleboscq | 40 | 477 km W | 451 | 18 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 59 % · winter 20 % · humidity 64 % |
| Val-de-Vie | 14 | 570 km NW | 502 | 19.6 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 82 % · winter 12 % · humidity 100 % |
| Colombiers-du-Plessis | 53 | 593 km NW | 482 | 15.4 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 74 % · winter 19 % · humidity 100 % |
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 Merlas'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châtel-en-Trièves | 38 | 67 km S | 491 | 32.1 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 % |
| Saint-Hilaire-la-Croix | 63 | 214 km W | 374 | 30.5 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 97 % · humidity 100 % |
| Mussy-sous-Dun | 71 | 136 km NW | 327 | 26.2 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 92 % · humidity 100 % |
| Meaux-la-Montagne | 69 | 117 km NW | 223 | 20.9 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 93 % · humidity 100 % |
| Chaveroche | 19 | 266 km W | 268 | 15.8 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 100 % · humidity 93 % |
| Neuf-Église | 63 | 227 km W | 332 | 10.6 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 85 % · humidity 100 % |
Elsewhere
Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/38228-merlas