Montcarra

Identity

Montcarra (INSEE 38250) is in Isère (38), part of CC Les Balcons du Dauphiné. Population 612 (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/38250-montcarra

Vitality score

Vitality score 31.7/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 57 % of the 16,981 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 (O PUITS GOURMAND). ^[3,4]

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

1 × Hairdresser. ^[3,4]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Hairdresser.

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 495 (2012) → 612 (2023): 23.6 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 288 (1990) → 612 (2023): 112.5 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 259, of which 7.3 % second homes and 4.2 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Ruy-Montceau): 3 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Vignieu): 2.8 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Saint-Chef): 3.4 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[10]

Pharmacy (Saint-Chef): 3.9 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[10]

Primary school (Montcarra): 0.1 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[11]

Climate

An average of 25 days a year at or above 30 °C and 86 days at or below 0 °C, over 15 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[12]

Measured at the CESSIEU weather station, 5.5 km away at 304 m; the village itself is at 367 m. ^[12]

The village sits 63 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. ^[12]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 2 days a summer. ^[12]

Humidity measured at BOURGOIN, 6.7 km away at 358 m, over 20 summers. ^[12]

An average of 1,012 mm of rain a year, spread over 112 days — about 9 mm on a day it rains. ^[12]

Rainfall measured at CESSIEU, 5.5 km away at 304 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[12]

What property sold for

20 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 236,950 € — 2,109 € per m² of built surface. ^[13]

The median across Isère is 2,542 € per m², so this commune sits below it. ^[13]

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

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38250/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38250/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38250/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38250/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 38348
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 38546
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 38374
11. INSEE BPE 2025 — 38250
12. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
13. DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025