Villard-Reculas

Identity

Villard-Reculas (INSEE 38550) is in Isère (38), part of CC de l'Oisans. Population 76 (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/38550-villard-reculas

Vitality score

Vitality score 27.7/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 98 % of the 8,064 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 and somewhere to eat or drink, but no school. ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (LE COMPTOIR DU VILLARD). ^[3,4]

2 × Restaurant (GALLANT FOOD SERVICES). ^[3,4]

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

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Supermarket, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), Primary school (élémentaire), 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 62 (2012) → 76 (2023): 22.6 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 52 (1990) → 76 (2023): 46.2 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 309, of which 87.7 % second homes and 0.3 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Huez): 2.3 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Villard-Reculas): 0.3 km to the north (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Huez): 2.7 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Huez): 2.9 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Huez): 3 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

An average of 0 days a year at or above 30 °C and 114 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the ALPE-D'HUEZ weather station, 4.3 km away at 1,860 m; the village itself is at 1,433 m. ^[10]

The village sits 427 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. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at ALPE-D'HUEZ, 4.3 km away at 1,860 m, over 18 summers. ^[10]

That station sits 427 m above 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 974 mm of rain a year, spread over 111 days — about 8.8 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at ALPE-D'HUEZ, 4.3 km away at 1,860 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38550/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38550/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38550/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 38550/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 38191
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 38550
10. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024