Usson-en-Forez
A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink.
Partly served 56.1/100 · confidence: medium· Better served than 89 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
Usson-en-Forez (INSEE 42318) is in Loire (42), part of CA Loire Forez Agglomération (LFA). Population 1,455 (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 · Commune website 2026-10-25 · DATAtourisme 2026-10-22.
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/42318-usson-en-forez
Vitality score
Vitality score 56.1/100 — Partly served (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: medium (sources disagree on Restaurant).
Better served than 89 % of the 11,880 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 | 0.52 | 25 | 13.03 |
| Social | 0.75 | 20 | 14.97 |
| Education | 0.39 | 10 | 3.93 |
| Health | 0.51 | 10 | 5.13 |
| Public & culture | 0.39 | 5 | 1.97 |
| Population trend | 0.65 | 10 | 6.5 |
| Housing mix | 0.43 | 5 | 2.14 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. [3,4]
3 × Bakery (boulangerie) (EURL FOUGEROUSE · L'EVEIL DES DELICES). [3,4]
1 × Butcher (boucherie). [3,4]
1 × Supermarket (CAJURA). [3,4]
4 × Restaurant (LE CABANON · LES CHALETS DU HAUT FOREZ). [3,4]
2 × Café / bar (LA CURE). [4]
1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE PRIMAIRE RUE DES ECOLES). [3]
2 × GP (médecin généraliste) (HAMBOURG ZEPHIR, MÉDECIN · ARNAUD CHARPENTIER, MÉDECIN). [3]
1 × Pharmacy (PHARMACIE GALLON BRIAND). [3,4]
1 × Post office / agence postale (LA POSTE). [3]
1 × Library (MEDIATHÈQUE - USSON-EN-FOREZ). [3]
1 × Cinema (LE QUAI DES ARTS). [3]
1 × Gym / sports hall (MAIRIE). [3]
2 × Hairdresser (CREATIF COIFFURE). [3,4]
1 × Fuel station (STATION SERVICE). [3]
2 × Campsite (CAMPING MUNICIPAL LES TILLEULS · LES CHALETS DU HAUT FOREZ). [3,4]
Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Bakery (boulangerie), 1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette).
Not found in the commune: Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Nursery school (maternelle). [3]
All 25 service types, with per-source counts
| Type | Count | Names | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakery (boulangerie) | 3 | EURL FOUGEROUSE · L'EVEIL DES DELICES | INSEE BPE 3 / INSEE SIRENE 3 [3,4] |
| Butcher (boucherie) | 1 | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4] | |
| Grocery (épicerie / supérette) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3] | |
| Supermarket | 1 | CAJURA | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4] |
| Cheese shop (fromagerie) | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 0 [4] | |
| Fishmonger | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Restaurant | 4 | LE CABANON · LES CHALETS DU HAUT FOREZ | INSEE BPE 4 / INSEE SIRENE 10 [3,4] |
| Café / bar | 2 | LA CURE | INSEE SIRENE 2 [4] |
| Nursery school (maternelle) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Primary school (élémentaire) | 1 | ECOLE PRIMAIRE RUE DES ECOLES | INSEE BPE 1 [3] |
| Collège | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| GP (médecin généraliste) | 2 | HAMBOURG ZEPHIR, MÉDECIN · ARNAUD CHARPENTIER, MÉDECIN | INSEE BPE 2 [3] |
| Pharmacy | 1 | PHARMACIE GALLON BRIAND | 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 | MEDIATHÈQUE - USSON-EN-FOREZ | INSEE BPE 1 [3] |
| Cinema | 1 | LE QUAI DES ARTS | INSEE BPE 1 [3] |
| Gym / sports hall | 1 | MAIRIE | INSEE BPE 1 [3] |
| Swimming pool | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Bank | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Hairdresser | 2 | CREATIF COIFFURE | INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4] |
| Fuel station | 1 | STATION SERVICE | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3] |
| Hotel | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Campsite | 2 | CAMPING MUNICIPAL LES TILLEULS · LES CHALETS DU HAUT FOREZ | INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4] |
Market and village life
Weekly market (reported, unverified): Tuesday, Sunday matin Autour de la place de l'église et vers le clos grenetier. [5]
Trajectory
Population 1,476 (2012) → 1,455 (2023): -1.4 % over 10 years. [6,1]
Population 1,265 (1990) → 1,455 (2023): 15 % over 30 years. [7,1]
Dwellings (2023): 1,197, of which 28.6 % second homes and 12.1 % vacant. [8]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Usson-en-Forez): 0.1 km to the north (straight line). [9]
Food shop (Usson-en-Forez): 0.1 km to the north (straight line). [9]
GP (Usson-en-Forez): 0.3 km to the north-east (straight line). [9]
Pharmacy (Usson-en-Forez): 0.2 km to the north (straight line). [9]
Primary school (Usson-en-Forez): 0.1 km to the south (straight line). [9]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 9 days a year at or above 30 °C and 85 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. [10]
Measured at the ST-BONNET-LE-CHATEAU_SAPC weather station, 11.5 km away at 822 m; the village itself is at 922 m. [10]
The village sits 100 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. [10]
Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 6 days a summer. [10]
Humidity measured at ST-BONNET-LE-CHATEAU_SAPC, 11.5 km away at 822 m, over 10 summers. [10]
That station sits 100 m below 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 936 mm of rain a year, spread over 122 days — about 7.7 mm on a day it rains. [10]
Rainfall measured at ST-B-CHAT - MAN, 10.6 km away at 861 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. [10]
Uncertainties
sources disagree on Restaurant
The market day comes from the commune's own website and has not been confirmed by a second source. [5]
References
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42318/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- Commune website 2026-10— http://www.usson-en-forez.fr/commerces-usson-en-forez-loire— “De cette époque ont perduré les marchés du mardi et du dimanche matin”(unverified)
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42318/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42318/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 42318/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 42318
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lauzerte | 82 | 255 km SW | 1,443 | 57 | Partly served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 41 % · winter 20 % · humidity 86 % |
| Caylus | 82 | 214 km SW | 1,445 | 57.2 | Partly served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 15 % · winter 77 % · humidity 79 % |
| Montaigu-de-Quercy | 82 | 258 km SW | 1,294 | 49.1 | Partly served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 38 % · winter 39 % · humidity 86 % |
| Villeneuve | 12 | 184 km SW | 1,948 | 63.3 | Served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 31 % · winter 66 % · humidity 71 % |
| Guilliers | 56 | 566 km NW | 1,368 | 45.6 | Partly served | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 97 % · winter 36 % · humidity 64 % |
| Conques-en-Rouergue | 12 | 153 km SW | 1,540 | 58.6 | Partly served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 21 % · winter 45 % · humidity 79 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conques-en-Rouergue | 12 | 153 km SW | 1,540 | 58.6 | Partly served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 21 % · winter 45 % · humidity 79 % |
| Villeneuve | 12 | 184 km SW | 1,948 | 63.3 | Served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 31 % · winter 66 % · humidity 71 % |
| Caylus | 82 | 214 km SW | 1,445 | 57.2 | Partly served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 15 % · winter 77 % · humidity 79 % |
| Lauzerte | 82 | 255 km SW | 1,443 | 57 | Partly served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 41 % · winter 20 % · humidity 86 % |
| Montaigu-de-Quercy | 82 | 258 km SW | 1,294 | 49.1 | Partly served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 38 % · winter 39 % · humidity 86 % |
| Guilliers | 56 | 566 km NW | 1,368 | 45.6 | Partly served | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 97 % · winter 36 % · humidity 64 % |
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 Usson-en-Forez'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlhes | 42 | 37 km E | 1,312 | 61.1 | Served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 97 % · humidity 93 % |
| Saint-Sauveur-en-Rue | 42 | 45 km E | 1,081 | 28.3 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 92 % · humidity 86 % |
| Estivareilles | 42 | 6.1 km NE | 721 | 54.9 | Partly served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 97 % · humidity 93 % |
| Saint-Genest-Malifaux | 42 | 38 km E | 2,921 | 76.1 | Served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 100 % · humidity 93 % |
| Planfoy | 42 | 39 km E | 1,075 | 44.3 | Partly served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 % |
Elsewhere
Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/42318-usson-en-forez