Méral

Mayenne · CC du Pays de Craon · INSEE 53151

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

Few services 34.1/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 43 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Méral (INSEE 53151) is in Mayenne (53), part of CC du Pays de Craon. Population 1,053 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Bourgs ruraux (level 5). ^[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/53151-meral

Vitality score

Vitality score 34.1/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 43 % of the 14,016 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	0.26	25	6.56
Social	0.2	20	3.93
Education	0.39	10	3.93
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.39	5	1.97
Population trend	0.8	10	8.02
Housing mix	0.92	5	4.59

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 1 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 1 of 2

Everyday services 0 of 3

Lodging 1 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 × Bakery (boulangerie) (FOURNIL DES MOTTAIS). ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (EPI SERVICES). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar (LE MERALAIS). ^[4]

1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE PRIMAIRE PRIVEE STE MARIE). ^[3]

1 × Post office / agence postale (MERAL RP). ^[3]

1 × Library (CC CRAON - BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE MÉRAL). ^[3]

1 × Gym / sports hall (SALLE DES SPORTS). ^[3]

1 × Campsite (CAMPING A LA FERME LE MOTTAIS). ^[3]

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

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	1	FOURNIL DES MOTTAIS	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	1	EPI SERVICES	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 MERALAIS	INSEE SIRENE 1 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE PRIMAIRE PRIVEE STE MARIE	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	1	MERAL RP	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	1	CC CRAON - BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE MÉRAL	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Gym / sports hall	1	SALLE DES SPORTS	INSEE BPE 1 [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	1	CAMPING A LA FERME LE MOTTAIS	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

1968: 1,027 peak 2017: 1,098 2023: 1,053 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 1,067 (2012) → 1,053 (2023): -1.3 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 809 (1990) → 1,053 (2023): 30.2 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 463, of which 4.1 % second homes and 7.3 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Food shop, Primary school Bakery — 3.7 km NWGP — 5.8 km EPharmacy — 5.8 km E 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 (Méral): 3.7 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Méral): 0.1 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Cossé-le-Vivien): 5.8 km to the east (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Cossé-le-Vivien): 5.8 km to the east (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Méral): 0.2 km to the west (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 13.7

Days at or below 0 °C 41.3

Muggy days a summer 1.6

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 14 days a year at or above 30 °C and 41 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the COSSE-LE-VIVIEN weather station, 4.1 km away at 95 m; the village itself is at 86 m. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 2 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at LAVAL-ETRONNIER, 19.2 km away at 100 m, over 14 summers. ^[10]

An average of 806 mm of rain a year, spread over 122 days — about 6.6 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at COSSE-LE-VIVIEN, 4.1 km away at 95 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 — 53151/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 53151/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 53151/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 53151/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 53151
INSEE BPE 2025 — 53077
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
Mézières-en-Drouais	28	197 km NE	1,059	33.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 91 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Germain-sur-Ille	35	60 km NW	1,017	39.2	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 100 % · humidity 93 %
Sainneville	76	200 km NE	891	43.6	Partly served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 77 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 %
La Chapelle-Chaussée	35	73 km NW	1,298	39.3	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 95 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Aubin-des-Ormeaux	85	108 km S	1,394	34.9	Few services	Much the same temperatures.summer 95 % · winter 99 %
Ouzouer-sur-Trézée	45	285 km E	1,125	31	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.summer 87 % · winter 81 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Saint-Germain-sur-Ille	35	60 km NW	1,017	39.2	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 100 % · humidity 93 %
La Chapelle-Chaussée	35	73 km NW	1,298	39.3	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 95 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Aubin-des-Ormeaux	85	108 km S	1,394	34.9	Few services	Much the same temperatures.summer 95 % · winter 99 %
Mézières-en-Drouais	28	197 km NE	1,059	33.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 91 % · humidity 93 %
Sainneville	76	200 km NE	891	43.6	Partly served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 77 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 %
Ouzouer-sur-Trézée	45	285 km E	1,125	31	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.summer 87 % · winter 81 %

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 Méral'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
Mézières-en-Drouais	28	197 km NE	1,059	33.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 91 % · humidity 93 %
Vaudelnay	49	108 km SE	1,122	27.7	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 89 % · humidity 100 %
La Copechagnière	85	127 km S	1,046	32.9	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 97 % · humidity 100 %
Villeperdue	37	148 km SE	1,126	43.7	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 95 % · humidity 100 %
Bouère	53	39 km E	1,058	28.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 97 % · humidity 93 %
Hénonville	60	263 km NE	925	43	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 89 % · humidity 93 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/53151-meral