Bellou-en-Houlme

Orne · CA Flers Agglo · INSEE 61040

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

Few services 31.2/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 34 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Bellou-en-Houlme (INSEE 61040) is in Orne (61), part of CA Flers Agglo. Population 1,024 (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/61040-bellou-en-houlme

Vitality score

Vitality score 31.2/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 34 % of the 14,153 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	0.13	25	3.28
Social	0.32	20	6.32
Education	0.39	10	3.93
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.39	5	1.97
Population trend	0.62	10	6.23
Housing mix	0.96	5	4.82

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 1 of 6

Eating out 1 of 1

Cafés and bars 0 of 1

Schools 1 of 3

Health 0 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 0 of 2

Everyday services 1 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 food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (LA PETITE EPICERIE). ^[3,4]

2 × Restaurant (HOTEL DU GRAND TURC). ^[3,4]

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

1 × Post office / agence postale (BELLOU EN HOULME RP). ^[3]

1 × Library (MÉDIATHÈQUE MUNICIPALE DE BELLOU-EN-HOULME). ^[3]

2 × Hairdresser. ^[3,4]

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Supermarket, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy. ^[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)	1	LA PETITE EPICERIE	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	2	HOTEL DU GRAND TURC	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Café / bar	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE PRIMAIRE 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	1	BELLOU EN HOULME RP	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	1	MÉDIATHÈQUE MUNICIPALE DE BELLOU-EN-HOULME	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	2		INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Fuel station	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Hotel	0		INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [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: 1,072 peak 2012: 1,127 2023: 1,024 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 1,127 (2012) → 1,024 (2023): -9.1 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 912 (1990) → 1,024 (2023): 12.3 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 557, of which 1.8 % second homes and 15.3 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Food shop, Primary school Bakery — 3.5 km SEGP — 5.8 km EPharmacy — 6.5 km SW 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 (Le Ménil-de-Briouze): 3.5 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Bellou-en-Houlme): 0.1 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Briouze): 5.8 km to the east (straight line). ^[10]

Pharmacy (La Ferrière-aux-Étangs): 6.5 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[11]

Primary school (Bellou-en-Houlme): 0.1 km to the south (straight line). ^[9]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 9.1

Days at or below 0 °C 53.4

Muggy days a summer 0.6

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 9 days a year at or above 30 °C and 53 days at or below 0 °C, over 18 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[12]

Measured at the BRIOUZE weather station, 5.9 km away at 215 m; the village itself is at 232 m. ^[12]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 1 day a summer. ^[12]

Humidity measured at FLERS, 12.7 km away at 195 m, over 28 summers. ^[12]

An average of 939 mm of rain a year, spread over 139 days — about 6.8 mm on a day it rains. ^[12]

Rainfall measured at COULONCHE -LA-, 5.3 km away at 309 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[12]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 61040/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 61040/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 61040/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 61040/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 61260
INSEE BPE 2025 — 61040
INSEE BPE 2025 — 61063
INSEE BPE 2025 — 61163
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
Chapeiry	74	582 km SE	984	42.2	Partly served	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 77 % · winter 36 % · humidity 93 %
Vignieu	38	559 km SE	1,024	32.3	Few services	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 49 % · winter 55 % · humidity 93 %
Ouzilly	86	221 km S	961	41.8	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 82 % · winter 78 % · humidity 93 %
La Boissière	34	641 km SE	1,072	32.5	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 0 % · winter 84 % · humidity 64 %
Sanssac-l'Église	43	516 km SE	1,080	30.1	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 34 % · humidity 93 %
Faye-l'Abbesse	79	207 km S	1,131	34.1	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 62 % · winter 81 % · humidity 93 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Faye-l'Abbesse	79	207 km S	1,131	34.1	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 62 % · winter 81 % · humidity 93 %
Ouzilly	86	221 km S	961	41.8	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 82 % · winter 78 % · humidity 93 %
Sanssac-l'Église	43	516 km SE	1,080	30.1	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 34 % · humidity 93 %
Vignieu	38	559 km SE	1,024	32.3	Few services	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 49 % · winter 55 % · humidity 93 %
Chapeiry	74	582 km SE	984	42.2	Partly served	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 77 % · winter 36 % · humidity 93 %
La Boissière	34	641 km SE	1,072	32.5	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 0 % · winter 84 % · 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 Bellou-en-Houlme'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
Laval-en-Belledonne	38	616 km SE	1,029	31.7	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 100 % · humidity 93 %
Hermeray	78	156 km E	1,007	28.9	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 99 % · humidity 86 %
Bazougers	53	76 km S	1,079	32.5	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 93 % · humidity 100 %
Sailly-Flibeaucourt	80	231 km NE	991	32.6	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 95 % · humidity 100 %
Ableiges	95	183 km E	1,108	35.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 92 % · humidity 100 %
Trélou-sur-Marne	02	299 km E	952	30.7	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/61040-bellou-en-houlme