Villeneuve-la-Rivière

Identity

Villeneuve-la-Rivière (INSEE 66228) is in Pyrénées-Orientales (66), part of CU Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole. Population 1,360 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Ceintures urbaines (level 4). ^[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/66228-villeneuve-la-riviere

Vitality score

Vitality score 38.4/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 47 % of the 12,311 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.

Services

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

2 × Bakery (boulangerie) (SAVEURS CATALANES · LA MIE MARTINE). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar. ^[4]

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

2 × GP (médecin généraliste) (CAROLINE MALBERT-VIDAL, MÉDECIN · BENJAMIN GEORGEL, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

1 × Post office / agence postale (VILLENEUVE LA RIVIERE AP). ^[3]

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHÈQUE MUNICIPALE LAURA VASQUEZ ESPACE JEAN NOÉ). ^[3]

2 × Hairdresser (LE PETIT SALON). ^[3,4]

Not found in the commune: Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Restaurant, Nursery school (maternelle), Pharmacy. ^[3,4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

Population 1,290 (2012) → 1,360 (2023): 5.4 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 901 (1990) → 1,360 (2023): 50.9 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 679, of which 5.9 % second homes and 3.4 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Villeneuve-la-Rivière): 0.1 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Le Soler): 1.2 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Villeneuve-la-Rivière): 0.3 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Le Soler): 1.2 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Villeneuve-la-Rivière): 0.3 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

An average of 52 days a year at or above 30 °C and 21 days at or below 0 °C, over 16 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the CANOHES weather station, 5.1 km away at 73 m; the village itself is at 57 m. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 13 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at THUIR, 7.5 km away at 110 m, over 14 summers. ^[10]

That station sits 53 m above the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.26 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[10]

An average of 617 mm of rain a year, spread over 58 days — about 10.6 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at CANOHES, 5.1 km away at 73 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

What property sold for

88 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 169,000 € — 1,975 € per m² of built surface. ^[11]

8 flats sold over the same window, at a median of 126,500 € — 1,540 € per m². ^[11]

The median across Pyrénées-Orientales is 2,334 € 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

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 66228/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 66228/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 66228/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 66228/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 66228
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 66195
10. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
11. DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025