Bourg-Argental

Loire · CC des Monts du Pilat · INSEE 42023

A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink.

Served 67.3/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 98 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Bourg-Argental (INSEE 42023) is in Loire (42), part of CC des Monts du Pilat. Population 2,886 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Bourgs ruraux (level 5). ^[2]

Data vintages: INSEE BPE 2025 · INSEE SIRENE 2026-09 · INSEE census (RP) 2023 · INSEE COG 2026 · INSEE density grid 2026 · Commune website 2026-10-24.

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/42023-bourg-argental

Vitality score

Vitality score 67.3/100 — Served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 98 % of the 7,342 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	0.63	25	15.75
Social	0.87	20	17.47
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0.63	10	6.29
Public & culture	0.39	5	1.97
Population trend	0.5	10	5.03
Housing mix	0.88	5	4.38

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 4 of 6

Eating out 1 of 1

Cafés and bars 1 of 1

Schools 3 of 3

Health 2 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 2 of 2

Sport 1 of 2

Everyday services 3 of 3

Lodging 2 of 2

One square per service type, shaded by how many: none, one, a few, five or more. A blank square means none was counted — the sources do not distinguish “none here” from “not counted”.

A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

4 × Bakery (boulangerie) (ARTISAN BOULANGER PATISSIER LORRAIN). ^[3,4]

1 × Butcher (boucherie). ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (SABTI 19). ^[3,4]

2 × Supermarket (CECYL · CARREFOUR CONTACT). ^[3,4]

7 × Restaurant (CAFE DU MIDI · FRIETKOT · LE BISTROT DE LA FAMILLE · LA K'UISINE S'EMPORTE · LA 3EME MI-TEMPS). ^[3,4]

3 × Café / bar (CAFE DE LA PAIX). ^[4]

1 × Nursery school (maternelle) (ECOLE MATERNELLE 5 RUE DU COUVENT). ^[3]

2 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE 5 RUE DU COUVENT · ECOLE PRIM PRIVE EPC STE ANNE). ^[3]

2 × Collège (COLLEGE DU PILAT · COLLEGE PRIVE SAINT JOSEPH). ^[3]

4 × GP (médecin généraliste) (EMEL ALASAN-HEYRAUD, MÉDECIN · IMAD ZARARI, MÉDECIN · HUGUETTE HEURTIER, MÉDECIN · CHRISTINE GAUSSUIN, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

1 × Pharmacy (PHARMACIE DE BOURG ARGENTAL). ^[3,4]

1 × Post office / agence postale (LA POSTE). ^[3]

1 × Library (MÉDIATHÈQUE - BOURG-ARGENTAL). ^[3]

1 × Cinema (FOYER). ^[3]

1 × Gym / sports hall (GYMNASE ESPACE MULTISPORTS). ^[3]

1 × Bank (CAISSE EPARGNE PREVO LOIRE DROME ARDECHE). ^[3]

3 × Hairdresser (MODERN' STYL' · IMAGIN'HAIR). ^[3,4]

2 × Fuel station (STATION SERVICE). ^[3]

1 × Hotel (HOTEL LE RELAIS). ^[3,4]

1 × Campsite (PARC RESIDENTIEL DE LOISIRS L'ASTREE). ^[3,4]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 3 × Restaurant, 1 × Hairdresser.

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	4	ARTISAN BOULANGER PATISSIER LORRAIN	INSEE BPE 4 / INSEE SIRENE 4 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	1		INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	1	SABTI 19	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Supermarket	2	CECYL · CARREFOUR CONTACT	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Cheese shop (fromagerie)	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Fishmonger	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Restaurant	7	CAFE DU MIDI · FRIETKOT · LE BISTROT DE LA FAMILLE · LA K'UISINE S'EMPORTE · LA 3EME MI-TEMPS	INSEE BPE 7 / INSEE SIRENE 11 [3,4]
Café / bar	3	CAFE DE LA PAIX	INSEE SIRENE 3 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	1	ECOLE MATERNELLE 5 RUE DU COUVENT	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	2	ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE 5 RUE DU COUVENT · ECOLE PRIM PRIVE EPC STE ANNE	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
Collège	2	COLLEGE DU PILAT · COLLEGE PRIVE SAINT JOSEPH	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	4	EMEL ALASAN-HEYRAUD, MÉDECIN · IMAD ZARARI, MÉDECIN · HUGUETTE HEURTIER, MÉDECIN · CHRISTINE GAUSSUIN, MÉDECIN	INSEE BPE 4 [3]
Pharmacy	1	PHARMACIE DE BOURG ARGENTAL	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Nurse	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Dentist	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Post office / agence postale	1	LA POSTE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	1	MÉDIATHÈQUE - BOURG-ARGENTAL	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Cinema	1	FOYER	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Gym / sports hall	1	GYMNASE ESPACE MULTISPORTS	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Swimming pool	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Bank	1	CAISSE EPARGNE PREVO LOIRE DROME ARDECHE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Hairdresser	3	MODERN' STYL' · IMAGIN'HAIR	INSEE BPE 3 / INSEE SIRENE 3 [3,4]
Fuel station	2	STATION SERVICE	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3]
Hotel	1	HOTEL LE RELAIS	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Campsite	1	PARC RESIDENTIEL DE LOISIRS L'ASTREE	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

1968: 3,091 peak 1975: 3,239 2023: 2,886 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 2,959 (2012) → 2,886 (2023): -2.5 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 2,877 (1990) → 2,886 (2023): 0.3 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 1,629, of which 6.2 % second homes and 10.9 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Bakery, Food shop, Primary school, GP, Pharmacy Straight-line, from the mairie, in the direction given. Services in the same town share a spoke. Distance is not travel time: a pass or an estuary can double it.

Bakery (Bourg-Argental): 0.1 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Bourg-Argental): 0.1 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Bourg-Argental): 0.1 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Bourg-Argental): 0.1 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Bourg-Argental): 0.2 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 20.8

Days at or below 0 °C 63.6

Muggy days a summer 1.2

Each track runs from the 5th to the 95th percentile of the 34,141 communes with that measurement; the tick is the median. A value beyond either end sits at the end and is marked ▸.

An average of 21 days a year at or above 30 °C and 64 days at or below 0 °C, over 24 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[9]

Measured at the BG-ARGENT - MAN weather station, 0.3 km away at 562 m; the village itself is at 536 m. ^[9]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 1 day a summer. ^[9]

Humidity measured at PILAT GRAIX, 7.2 km away at 1,164 m, over 18 summers. ^[9]

That station sits 628 m above the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[9]

An average of 914 mm of rain a year, spread over 105 days — about 8.7 mm on a day it rains. ^[9]

Rainfall measured at BG-ARGENT - MAN, 0.3 km away at 562 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[9]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42023/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42023/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42023/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42023/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 42023
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
Saint-Jouan-des-Guérets	35	617 km NW	2,847	67.6	Served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 54 % · winter 41 % · humidity 100 %
Lorris	45	328 km NW	2,996	65.5	Served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 82 % · humidity 100 %
Bruyères	88	363 km NE	2,923	69.9	Served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 79 % · winter 86 % · humidity 100 %
Dormans	51	426 km N	2,890	65.9	Served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 82 % · winter 65 % · humidity 100 %
Montesquieu-Volvestre	31	353 km SW	3,050	44.8	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 64 % · winter 73 % · humidity 57 %
Saint-Calais	72	413 km NW	2,948	62.3	Served	Cooler summers and milder winters.summer 82 % · winter 64 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Lorris	45	328 km NW	2,996	65.5	Served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 82 % · humidity 100 %
Montesquieu-Volvestre	31	353 km SW	3,050	44.8	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 64 % · winter 73 % · humidity 57 %
Bruyères	88	363 km NE	2,923	69.9	Served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 79 % · winter 86 % · humidity 100 %
Saint-Calais	72	413 km NW	2,948	62.3	Served	Cooler summers and milder winters.summer 82 % · winter 64 %
Dormans	51	426 km N	2,890	65.9	Served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 82 % · winter 65 % · humidity 100 %
Saint-Jouan-des-Guérets	35	617 km NW	2,847	67.6	Served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 54 % · winter 41 % · 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 Bourg-Argental'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
Venarey-les-Laumes	21	250 km N	2,747	64.3	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 85 % · humidity 100 %
Toucy	89	288 km N	2,571	63.4	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 89 % · humidity 93 %
Laroque-d'Olmes	09	336 km SW	2,454	64.8	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 93 % · humidity 86 %
Cléry-Saint-André	45	353 km NW	3,596	49.1	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 96 % · humidity 100 %
Seurre	21	195 km N	2,352	66	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 89 % · humidity 93 %
Panissières	42	58 km N	2,911	61.9	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 96 % · humidity 93 %

Elsewhere

Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/42023-bourg-argental