Costaros

Identity

Costaros (INSEE 43077) is in Haute-Loire (43), part of CC des Pays de Cayres et de Pradelles. Population 553 (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/43077-costaros

Vitality score

Vitality score 70.9/100 — Served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 100 % of the 17,476 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, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

2 × Bakery (boulangerie) (L'ENVOLEE DES SAVEURS · LE FOURNIL COSTAROIS). ^[3,4]

2 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (8 A HUIT · VELLABIO). ^[3,4]

3 × Restaurant (MOULIN MARTINE · LA GRANGE · RESTAURANT LE DAGUET). ^[3,4]

3 × Café / bar (L'ELDORADO · BAR RESTAURANT PIZZERIA DU MARCHE). ^[4]

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

1 × GP (médecin généraliste) (JEAN BUGE, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

1 × Pharmacy (PHARMACIE POIRIER). ^[3,4]

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

2 × Library (BIBLIOTHEQUE MUNICIPALE MAIRIE BIBLIOTHEQUE · PAYS DE CAYRES PRADELLES COMMUNAUTÉ DE COMMUNES). ^[3]

1 × Bank (CAISSE D'EPARGNE ECUREUIL). ^[3]

1 × Hairdresser. ^[3,4]

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

Not found in the commune: Butcher (boucherie), Supermarket, Nursery school (maternelle). ^[3,4]

Market and village life

Weekly market (reported, unverified): Monday. ^[5,6]

Trajectory

Population 632 (2012) → 553 (2023): -12.5 % over 10 years. ^[7,1]

Population 485 (1990) → 553 (2023): 14 % over 30 years. ^[8,1]

Dwellings (2023): 371, of which 8.9 % second homes and 18.3 % vacant. ^[9]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Costaros): 0.3 km to the west (straight line). ^[10]

Food shop (Costaros): 0.3 km to the west (straight line). ^[10]

GP (Costaros): 0.1 km to the north (straight line). ^[10]

Pharmacy (Costaros): 0 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[10]

Primary school (Costaros): 0.4 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[10]

Climate

An average of 3 days a year at or above 30 °C and 104 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the LANDOS-CHARBON weather station, 4.1 km away at 1,148 m; the village itself is at 1,070 m. ^[11]

The village sits 78 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. ^[11]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. ^[11]

Humidity measured at LANDOS-CHARBON, 4.1 km away at 1,148 m, over 30 summers. ^[11]

That station sits 78 m above the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[11]

An average of 788 mm of rain a year, spread over 101 days — about 7.8 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at LANDOS-CHARBON, 4.1 km away at 1,148 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

What property sold for

27 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 109,900 € — 956 € per m² of built surface. ^[12]

8 flats sold over the same window, at a median of 63,750 € — 527 € per m². ^[12]

The median across Haute-Loire is 1,165 € per m², so this commune sits below it. ^[12]

These are recorded sale prices, not valuations or asking prices, and a median over five years spans five different markets. Built surface excludes land, which carries much of a rural property's value.

Uncertainties

The market day comes from DATAtourisme and has not been confirmed by a second source. ^[5,6]

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 43077/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. DATAtourisme 2026-08— https://data.datatourisme.fr/13/17b8b605-03c6-35f4-b90b-01cefaebb71b— “Toute l'année le lundi matin, marché forain, présence des producteurs locaux.”(unverified)
6. DATAtourisme 2026-09— https://data.datatourisme.fr/13/4b7ba061-fe1b-3732-bbd8-f3465eba082a— “Toute l'année le lundi matin, le traditionnel marché aux veaux de Costaros.”(unverified)
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 43077/2012
8. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 43077/1990
9. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 43077/logement/2023
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 43077
11. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
12. DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025