Montchal

Identity

Montchal (INSEE 42148) is in Loire (42), part of CC de Forez-Est. Population 512 (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 · DATAtourisme 2026-10-22.

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/42148-montchal

Vitality score

Vitality score 34.7/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 72 % of the 17,733 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]

2 × Café / bar (CHEZ MAUDE). ^[4]

1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE PRIMAIRE RPI MONTCHAL COTTANCE). ^[3]

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

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHÈQUE - MONTCHAL). ^[3]

1 × Gym / sports hall (SALLE POLYVALENTE). ^[3]

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

Market and village life

A market is recorded here, but no source gives the day. ^[5]

Trajectory

Population 478 (2012) → 512 (2023): 7.1 % over 10 years. ^[6,1]

Population 391 (1990) → 512 (2023): 30.9 % over 30 years. ^[7,1]

Dwellings (2023): 322, of which 17.4 % second homes and 11.8 % vacant. ^[8]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Cottance): 3.5 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[9]

Food shop (Panissières): 4.1 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[10]

GP (Bussières): 3.9 km to the west (straight line). ^[11]

Pharmacy (Bussières): 3.9 km to the west (straight line). ^[11]

Primary school (Montchal): 0 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[12]

Climate

An average of 16 days a year at or above 30 °C and 64 days at or below 0 °C, over 18 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[13]

Measured at the ROZIER-EN-DONZY weather station, 3.9 km away at 530 m; the village itself is at 647 m. ^[13]

The village sits 117 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. ^[13]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 2 days a summer. ^[13]

Humidity measured at ROZIER-EN-DONZY, 3.9 km away at 530 m, over 13 summers. ^[13]

That station sits 117 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[13]

An average of 878 mm of rain a year, spread over 117 days — about 7.5 mm on a day it rains. ^[13]

Rainfall measured at PANISSIERES, 2.9 km away at 614 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[13]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42148/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. DATAtourisme 2026-02— https://data.datatourisme.fr/13/4211f1cf-3441-3841-800d-a1e02c828b34— “Marché hebdomadaire”(unverified)
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42148/2012
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42148/1990
8. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42148/logement/2023
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 42073
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 42165
11. INSEE BPE 2025 — 42029
12. INSEE BPE 2025 — 42148
13. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024