Sauvain

Loire · CA Loire Forez Agglomération (LFA) · INSEE 42298

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

Few services 35.4/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 81 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Sauvain (INSEE 42298) is in Loire (42), part of CA Loire Forez Agglomération (LFA). Population 371 (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/42298-sauvain

Vitality score

Vitality score 35.4/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 81 % of the 18,041 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	0.42	25	10.54
Social	0.32	20	6.32
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.32	5	1.58
Population trend	0.33	10	3.34
Housing mix	0.4	5	1.99

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 2 of 6

Eating out 0 of 1

Cafés and bars 1 of 1

Schools 1 of 3

Health 0 of 4

Public services 0 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 0 of 2

Everyday services 0 of 3

Lodging 0 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]

1 × Butcher (boucherie) (LE P'TIT SAUVAGNARD). ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (CHEZ PAPOTE). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar (LE SAUVAGNARD). ^[4]

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

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

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Supermarket, Restaurant, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy, Post office / agence postale. ^[3,4]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	1	LE P'TIT SAUVAGNARD	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	1	CHEZ PAPOTE	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Supermarket	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Cheese shop (fromagerie)	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Fishmonger	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Restaurant	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Café / bar	1	LE SAUVAGNARD	INSEE SIRENE 1 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE PRIMAIRE PUBLIQUE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Pharmacy	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Nurse	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Dentist	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Post office / agence postale	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Library	1	BIBLIOTHÈQUE - SAUVAIN	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Gym / sports hall	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Swimming pool	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Bank	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Hairdresser	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Fuel station	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Hotel	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Campsite	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

1968: 611 2023: 371 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 386 (2012) → 371 (2023): -3.9 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 445 (1990) → 371 (2023): -16.6 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 299, of which 30.1 % second homes and 10 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Food shop, Primary school GP — 3.3 km SEBakery — 5.3 km NWPharmacy — 8.3 km NE 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 (Chalmazel-Jeansagnière): 5.3 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Sauvain): 0 km to the east (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Saint-Bonnet-le-Courreau): 3.3 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[10]

Pharmacy (Sail-sous-Couzan): 8.3 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[11]

Primary school (Sauvain): 0 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[9]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 8.8

Days at or below 0 °C 113.2▸

Muggy days a summer 2.8

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 9 days a year at or above 30 °C and 113 days at or below 0 °C, over 20 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[12]

Measured at the CHALMAZEL weather station, 5.3 km away at 855 m; the village itself is at 895 m. ^[12]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 3 days a summer. ^[12]

Humidity measured at CHALMAZEL, 5.3 km away at 855 m, over 10 summers. ^[12]

An average of 787 mm of rain a year, spread over 115 days — about 6.8 mm on a day it rains. ^[12]

Rainfall measured at ST GEORGES EN C, 5 km away at 496 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[12]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42298/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42298/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42298/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42298/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 42039
INSEE BPE 2025 — 42298
INSEE BPE 2025 — 42205
INSEE BPE 2025 — 42195
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
Laqueuille	63	91 km W	351	32.1	Few services	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 82 % · winter 51 % · humidity 79 %
Taurinya	66	364 km S	328	42.3	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 67 % · winter 0 % · humidity 79 %
Gumières	42	17 km S	325	27.9	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 90 % · winter 72 % · humidity 71 %
Vernon	07	132 km S	235	34.7	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 3 % · winter 0 % · humidity 86 %
Gerbamont	88	338 km NE	354	26.9	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 77 % · winter 66 % · humidity 86 %
Nancy-sur-Cluses	74	211 km E	463	30.6	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 58 % · humidity 86 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Gumières	42	17 km S	325	27.9	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 90 % · winter 72 % · humidity 71 %
Laqueuille	63	91 km W	351	32.1	Few services	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 82 % · winter 51 % · humidity 79 %
Vernon	07	132 km S	235	34.7	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 3 % · winter 0 % · humidity 86 %
Nancy-sur-Cluses	74	211 km E	463	30.6	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 58 % · humidity 86 %
Gerbamont	88	338 km NE	354	26.9	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 77 % · winter 66 % · humidity 86 %
Taurinya	66	364 km S	328	42.3	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 67 % · winter 0 % · humidity 79 %

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 Sauvain'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
Saint-Priest-la-Prugne	42	34 km N	402	38.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 96 % · humidity 86 %
Saint-Marc-à-Frongier	23	141 km W	428	17	No daily shops	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 89 % · humidity 86 %
Tarentaise	42	56 km SE	506	31.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 89 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Just-en-Bas	42	6.6 km N	281	24	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 100 % · humidity 100 %
Saint-Georges-en-Couzan	42	3.8 km NE	430	32.2	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 86 % · humidity 100 %
Champoly	42	21 km N	311	27.5	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 99 % · humidity 86 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/42298-sauvain