Valbonnais

Identity

Valbonnais (INSEE 38518) is in Isère (38), part of CC de la Matheysine. Population 520 (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/38518-valbonnais

Vitality score

Vitality score 37/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 77 % of the 17,720 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 food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (VALBO MARCHE). ^[3,4]

3 × Restaurant (PIZZA DU MOULIN · VALBO PLAGE · LAC DU BONHEUR). ^[3,4]

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

1 × Post office / agence postale (VALBONNAIS AP). ^[3]

1 × Library (LA BIBLI DE VALBONNAIS). ^[3]

1 × Swimming pool (PLAN D EAU). ^[3]

1 × Hotel. ^[3,4]

1 × Campsite (CAMPING AU VALBONHEUR). ^[3,4]

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

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Supermarket, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy. ^[3,4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

Population 511 (2012) → 520 (2023): 1.8 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 486 (1990) → 520 (2023): 7 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 441, of which 34.9 % second homes and 7.5 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Entraigues): 3.5 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Valbonnais): 0.3 km to the east (straight line). ^[9]

GP (La Mure): 8.6 km to the west (straight line). ^[10]

Pharmacy (La Mure): 9.1 km to the west (straight line). ^[10]

Primary school (Valbonnais): 0.3 km to the east (straight line). ^[9]

Climate

An average of 20 days a year at or above 30 °C and 115 days at or below 0 °C, over 18 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the VALJOUFFREY weather station, 9.2 km away at 980 m; the village itself is at 802 m. ^[11]

The village sits 178 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. ^[11]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. ^[11]

Humidity measured at LA MURE- RADOME, 10.1 km away at 885 m, over 21 summers. ^[11]

That station sits 83 m above the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[11]

An average of 890 mm of rain a year, spread over 98 days — about 9.1 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at VALBONNAIS, 0.1 km away at 785 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38518/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38518/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38518/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38518/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 38154
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 38518
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 38269
11. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024