Brains-sur-les-Marches
Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school.
Few services 20.8/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 51 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
Brains-sur-les-Marches (INSEE 53041) is in Mayenne (53), part of CC du Pays de Craon. Population 279 (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.
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/53041-brains-sur-les-marches
Vitality score
Vitality score 20.8/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: high.
Better served than 51 % of the 17,646 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 | 10 | 0 |
| Health | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Public & culture | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Population trend | 0.75 | 10 | 7.46 |
| Housing mix | 0.78 | 5 | 3.92 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school. [3,4]
1 × Café / bar (O POINT CARDINAL). [4]
Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Restaurant, Nursery school (maternelle), Primary school (élémentaire), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy, Post office / agence postale, Library. [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 | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Café / bar | 1 | O POINT CARDINAL | INSEE SIRENE 1 [4] |
| Nursery school (maternelle) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Primary school (élémentaire) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [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 | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [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
Population 237 (2012) → 279 (2023): 17.7 % over 10 years. [5,1]
Population 224 (1990) → 279 (2023): 24.6 % over 30 years. [6,1]
Dwellings (2023): 139, of which 10.8 % second homes and 5 % vacant. [7]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Saint-Aignan-sur-Roë): 6 km to the south-east (straight line). [8]
Food shop (Saint-Aignan-sur-Roë): 6.2 km to the south-east (straight line). [8]
GP (Saint-Aignan-sur-Roë): 6 km to the south-east (straight line). [8]
Pharmacy (Saint-Aignan-sur-Roë): 6.2 km to the south-east (straight line). [8]
Primary school (Chelun): 4.8 km to the south-west (straight line). [9]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 15 days a year at or above 30 °C and 56 days at or below 0 °C, over 19 complete years in 1995–2024. [10]
Measured at the BALLOTS weather station, 11 km away at 60 m; the village itself is at 98 m. [10]
An average of 787 mm of rain a year, spread over 121 days — about 6.5 mm on a day it rains. [10]
Rainfall measured at BALLOTS, 11 km away at 60 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. [10]
What property sold for
27 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 127,000 € — 971 € per m² of built surface. [11]
The median across Mayenne is 1,254 € per m², so this commune sits below it. [11]
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
No specific uncertainties flagged.
References
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 53041/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 53041/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 53041/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 53041/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 53197
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 35077
- Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
- DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lapenche | 82 | 459 km SE | 274 | 24 | Few services | Warmer summers and milder winters.summer 26 % · winter 77 % |
| Le Luot | 50 | 97 km N | 275 | 21.9 | Few services | Cooler summers, similar winters.summer 69 % · winter 96 % |
| Laguian-Mazous | 32 | 509 km S | 248 | 21.3 | Few services | Warmer summers and milder winters.summer 51 % · winter 72 % |
| Saint-Gildas | 22 | 148 km NW | 248 | 19.6 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and milder winters.summer 67 % · winter 51 % |
| La Mouche | 50 | 101 km N | 249 | 26.7 | Few services | Cooler summers, similar winters.summer 69 % · winter 97 % |
| Réans | 32 | 457 km S | 297 | 19.7 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.summer 62 % · winter 55 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Luot | 50 | 97 km N | 275 | 21.9 | Few services | Cooler summers, similar winters.summer 69 % · winter 96 % |
| La Mouche | 50 | 101 km N | 249 | 26.7 | Few services | Cooler summers, similar winters.summer 69 % · winter 97 % |
| Saint-Gildas | 22 | 148 km NW | 248 | 19.6 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and milder winters.summer 67 % · winter 51 % |
| Réans | 32 | 457 km S | 297 | 19.7 | No daily shops | Warmer summers and milder winters.summer 62 % · winter 55 % |
| Lapenche | 82 | 459 km SE | 274 | 24 | Few services | Warmer summers and milder winters.summer 26 % · winter 77 % |
| Laguian-Mazous | 32 | 509 km S | 248 | 21.3 | Few services | Warmer summers and milder winters.summer 51 % · winter 72 % |
Elsewhere
Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/53041-brains-sur-les-marches