Espalem

Haute-Loire · CC Brioude Sud Auvergne · INSEE 43088

A school and somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop.

Few services 33.6/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 82 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Espalem (INSEE 43088) is in Haute-Loire (43), part of CC Brioude Sud Auvergne. Population 329 (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/43088-espalem

Vitality score

Vitality score 33.6/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 82 % of the 17,991 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	25	0
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	1	10	10
Housing mix	0.86	5	4.32

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 0 of 6

Eating out 1 of 1

Cafés and bars 0 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 school and somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop. ^[3,4]

1 × Restaurant (SAS AUX BANQUETS). ^[3,4]

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

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHEQUE MUNICIPALE). ^[3]

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Café / bar, 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)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [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	1	SAS AUX BANQUETS	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Café / bar	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE 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	BIBLIOTHEQUE MUNICIPALE	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: 244 2023: 329 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 309 (2012) → 329 (2023): 6.5 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 212 (1990) → 329 (2023): 55.2 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 176, of which 6.8 % second homes and 10.2 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Primary school GP — 4.0 km WPharmacy — 5.0 km WBakery — 5.1 km WFood shop — 5.1 km W 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 (Blesle): 5.1 km to the west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Blesle): 5.1 km to the west (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Blesle): 4 km to the west (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Blesle): 5 km to the west (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Espalem): 0 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[9]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 18.3

Days at or below 0 °C 46.3

Muggy days a summer 0.1

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 18 days a year at or above 30 °C and 46 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the AUTRAC weather station, 8.3 km away at 807 m; the village itself is at 633 m. ^[10]

The village sits 174 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. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at FONTANNES, 14.5 km away at 435 m, over 30 summers. ^[10]

That station sits 198 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 703 mm of rain a year, spread over 107 days — about 6.6 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at AUTRAC, 8.3 km away at 807 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 43088/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 43088/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 43088/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 43088/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 43033
INSEE BPE 2025 — 43088
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
Crécy-au-Mont	02	465 km N	335	29.1	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 82 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Martin-de-Bossenay	10	350 km N	342	29.1	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 82 % · humidity 93 %
Couzon	03	151 km N	328	28.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 100 % · humidity 93 %
Marcilly-en-Beauce	41	322 km NW	319	36.5	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 %
Lagruère	47	256 km W	351	27.6	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 49 % · winter 88 % · humidity 43 %
Saillans	33	278 km W	369	26.7	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 64 % · winter 80 % · humidity 57 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Couzon	03	151 km N	328	28.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 100 % · humidity 93 %
Lagruère	47	256 km W	351	27.6	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 49 % · winter 88 % · humidity 43 %
Saillans	33	278 km W	369	26.7	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 64 % · winter 80 % · humidity 57 %
Marcilly-en-Beauce	41	322 km NW	319	36.5	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Martin-de-Bossenay	10	350 km N	342	29.1	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 82 % · humidity 93 %
Crécy-au-Mont	02	465 km N	335	29.1	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 82 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 %

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 Espalem'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
Couzon	03	151 km N	328	28.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 100 % · humidity 93 %
Marcilly-en-Beauce	41	322 km NW	319	36.5	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 %
Loge-Fougereuse	85	336 km NW	373	28.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 91 % · humidity 93 %
Origné	53	422 km NW	390	34.3	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 97 % · humidity 86 %
Bonnencontre	21	247 km NE	432	36	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 86 % · humidity 86 %
Charrey-sur-Saône	21	247 km NE	331	26.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 86 % · humidity 86 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/43088-espalem