Melay

Saône-et-Loire · CC de Marcigny · INSEE 71291

A school and somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop.

Few services 39/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 61 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Melay (INSEE 71291) is in Saône-et-Loire (71), part of CC de Marcigny. Population 967 (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 · DATAtourisme 2026-10-22.

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/71291-melay

Vitality score

Vitality score 39/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 61 % of the 14,521 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	0.63	20	12.64
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.63	5	3.16
Population trend	0.68	10	6.81
Housing mix	0.84	5	4.21

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 0 of 6

Eating out 1 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 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 school and somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop. ^[3,4]

1 × Restaurant (RESTAURANT L'INFINI). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar (BAR-RESTAURANT DES SPORTS). ^[4]

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

1 × Post office / agence postale (MELAY AP). ^[3]

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHÈQUE MUNICIPALE). ^[3]

1 × Hairdresser. ^[3,4]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Hairdresser.

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, 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)	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	1	RESTAURANT L'INFINI	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Café / bar	1	BAR-RESTAURANT DES SPORTS	INSEE SIRENE 1 [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	MELAY AP	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	1	BIBLIOTHÈQUE MUNICIPALE	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	1		INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [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

A market is recorded here, but no source gives the day. ^[5]

Trajectory

1968: 1,015 2023: 967 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 974 (2012) → 967 (2023): -0.7 % over 10 years. ^[6,1]

Population 819 (1990) → 967 (2023): 18.1 % over 30 years. ^[7,1]

Dwellings (2023): 529, of which 7.9 % second homes and 14 % vacant. ^[8]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Primary school Bakery — 4.5 km EFood shop — 4.7 km EGP — 6.9 km NPharmacy — 10.1 km SE 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 (Iguerande): 4.5 km to the east (straight line). ^[9]

Food shop (Iguerande): 4.7 km to the east (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Marcigny): 6.9 km to the north (straight line). ^[10]

Pharmacy (Pouilly-sous-Charlieu): 10.1 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[11]

Primary school (Melay): 0.1 km to the east (straight line). ^[12]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 26.8

Days at or below 0 °C 65.7

Muggy days a summer 1.3

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 27 days a year at or above 30 °C and 66 days at or below 0 °C, over 12 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[13]

Measured at the ARTAIX weather station, 3.3 km away at 264 m; the village itself is at 275 m. ^[13]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 1 day a summer. ^[13]

Humidity measured at MARCIGNY, 7.2 km away at 250 m, over 10 summers. ^[13]

An average of 788 mm of rain a year, spread over 118 days — about 6.7 mm on a day it rains. ^[13]

Rainfall measured at ARTAIX, 3.3 km away at 264 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[13]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 71291/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
DATAtourisme 2026-01— https://data.datatourisme.fr/6/7668f468-222f-3e30-8f75-cb1c3e95be25— “Marché”(unverified)
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 71291/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 71291/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 71291/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 71238
INSEE BPE 2025 — 71275
INSEE BPE 2025 — 42177
INSEE BPE 2025 — 71291
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
Artonne	63	71 km W	912	41.5	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 95 % · humidity 100 %
Noailles	19	230 km SW	945	45.3	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 99 % · humidity 100 %
Le Merzer	22	594 km NW	986	41.7	Partly served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 41 % · winter 62 % · humidity 100 %
Villegusien-le-Lac	52	196 km NE	1,000	31.6	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 84 % · humidity 93 %
Claveyson	26	135 km SE	934	46.8	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 64 % · winter 84 % · humidity 93 %
Radenac	56	545 km NW	1,066	34.7	Few services	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 44 % · winter 53 % · humidity 100 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Artonne	63	71 km W	912	41.5	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 95 % · humidity 100 %
Claveyson	26	135 km SE	934	46.8	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 64 % · winter 84 % · humidity 93 %
Villegusien-le-Lac	52	196 km NE	1,000	31.6	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 84 % · humidity 93 %
Noailles	19	230 km SW	945	45.3	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 99 % · humidity 100 %
Radenac	56	545 km NW	1,066	34.7	Few services	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 44 % · winter 53 % · humidity 100 %
Le Merzer	22	594 km NW	986	41.7	Partly served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 41 % · winter 62 % · humidity 100 %

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 Melay'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
Artonne	63	71 km W	912	41.5	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 95 % · humidity 100 %
Noailles	19	230 km SW	945	45.3	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 99 % · humidity 100 %
Saint-Vincent	43	119 km S	1,089	33.6	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Genis-l'Argentière	69	67 km SE	986	37.9	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 100 % · humidity 100 %
Cuffy	18	111 km NW	1,020	25.7	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Longes	69	94 km SE	938	38.7	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 95 % · humidity 86 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/71291-melay