Castelnou
Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school.
Few services 20.2/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 48 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
Castelnou (INSEE 66044) is in Pyrénées-Orientales (66), part of CC des Aspres. Population 280 (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/66044-castelnou
Vitality score
Vitality score 20.2/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: high.
Better served than 48 % of the 17,687 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 | 0.49 | 20 | 9.82 |
| Education | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Health | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Public & culture | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Population trend | 0.51 | 10 | 5.11 |
| Housing mix | 0.44 | 5 | 2.22 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school. [3,4]
4 × Restaurant (L'HOSTAL · DOMAINE DES ASPRES · LA POTERIE · LE Q DE CHOUETTE). [3,4]
Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Café / bar, 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 SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [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 | 4 | L'HOSTAL · DOMAINE DES ASPRES · LA POTERIE · LE Q DE CHOUETTE | INSEE BPE 4 / INSEE SIRENE 4 [3,4] |
| Café / bar | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 0 [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 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
Population 350 (2012) → 280 (2023): -20 % over 10 years. [5,1]
Population 277 (1990) → 280 (2023): 1.1 % over 30 years. [6,1]
Dwellings (2023): 212, of which 27.8 % second homes and 6.1 % vacant. [7]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Thuir): 4.5 km to the east (straight line). [8]
Food shop (Thuir): 4.5 km to the east (straight line). [8]
GP (Thuir): 4.7 km to the east (straight line). [8]
Pharmacy (Thuir): 4.6 km to the east (straight line). [8]
Primary school (Thuir): 4.7 km to the east (straight line). [8]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 25 days a year at or above 30 °C and 34 days at or below 0 °C, over 15 complete years in 1995–2024. [9]
Measured at the THUIR weather station, 4 km away at 110 m; the village itself is at 280 m. [9]
The village sits 170 m above the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 5.7 °C per km of altitude before the days were counted. Expect the result to be within about 0.68 °C. [9]
Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 8 days a summer. [9]
Humidity measured at THUIR, 4 km away at 110 m, over 14 summers. [9]
That station sits 170 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.26 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. [9]
An average of 586 mm of rain a year, spread over 59 days — about 9.9 mm on a day it rains. [9]
Rainfall measured at THUIR, 4 km away at 110 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. [9]
Uncertainties
No specific uncertainties flagged.
References
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 66044/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 66044/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 66044/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 66044/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 66210
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vichères | 28 | 644 km N | 289 | 17.5 | No daily shops | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 56 % · winter 96 % · humidity 50 % |
| Vaux-sur-Eure | 27 | 722 km N | 272 | 21.7 | Few services | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 62 % · winter 96 % · humidity 50 % |
| Les Brunels | 11 | 102 km NW | 268 | 24.5 | Few services | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 77 % · winter 91 % · humidity 64 % |
| Pailly | 89 | 639 km N | 279 | 22.2 | Few services | no figures |
| Montchauvet | 78 | 702 km N | 275 | 18.2 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 67 % · winter 78 % · humidity 57 % |
| Vault-de-Lugny | 89 | 550 km N | 271 | 14.5 | No daily shops | Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 92 % · winter 77 % · humidity 57 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Brunels | 11 | 102 km NW | 268 | 24.5 | Few services | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 77 % · winter 91 % · humidity 64 % |
| Vault-de-Lugny | 89 | 550 km N | 271 | 14.5 | No daily shops | Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 92 % · winter 77 % · humidity 57 % |
| Pailly | 89 | 639 km N | 279 | 22.2 | Few services | no figures |
| Vichères | 28 | 644 km N | 289 | 17.5 | No daily shops | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 56 % · winter 96 % · humidity 50 % |
| Montchauvet | 78 | 702 km N | 275 | 18.2 | No daily shops | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 67 % · winter 78 % · humidity 57 % |
| Vaux-sur-Eure | 27 | 722 km N | 272 | 21.7 | Few services | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 62 % · winter 96 % · humidity 50 % |
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 Castelnou'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laprade | 16 | 358 km NW | 248 | 21.2 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 % |
| Montastruc | 65 | 203 km W | 237 | 14.8 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 88 % · humidity 100 % |
| Saint-Martial-de-Mirambeau | 17 | 405 km NW | 302 | 23.9 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 93 % · humidity 86 % |
| Esclassan-Labastide | 32 | 196 km NW | 335 | 23.5 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 % |
| Allas-les-Mines | 24 | 279 km NW | 203 | 14.9 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 88 % · humidity 93 % |
| Molandier | 11 | 106 km NW | 252 | 11.2 | No daily shops | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 95 % · humidity 93 % |
Elsewhere
Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/66044-castelnou