Sainte-Hélène

Saône-et-Loire · CC Sud Côte Chalonnaise · INSEE 71426

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

Few services 26.3/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 47 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Sainte-Hélène (INSEE 71426) is in Saône-et-Loire (71), part of CC Sud Côte Chalonnaise. Population 511 (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/71426-sainte-helene

Vitality score

Vitality score 26.3/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 47 % of the 17,713 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	20	0
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.32	5	1.58
Population trend	1	10	10
Housing mix	0.89	5	4.43

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 0 of 6

Eating out 0 of 1

Cafés and bars 0 of 1

Schools 1 of 3

Health 0 of 4

Public services 0 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 0 of 2

Everyday services 0 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, but no food shop and nowhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

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

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

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Restaurant, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy, Post office / agence postale. ^[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 BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [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	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE PRIMAIRE PUBLIQUE LE PAQUIER	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	0		INSEE BPE 0 [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	0		INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [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

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

Trajectory

1968: 219 peak 2017: 523 2023: 511 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 472 (2012) → 511 (2023): 8.3 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 289 (1990) → 511 (2023): 76.8 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 211, of which 5.7 % second homes and 9 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Primary school Bakery — 5.1 km EGP — 5.4 km EFood shop — 5.8 km EPharmacy — 10.0 km N 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 (Saint-Désert): 5.1 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Saint-Désert): 5.8 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Saint-Désert): 5.4 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune): 10 km to the north (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Sainte-Hélène): 0.4 km to the north (straight line). ^[10]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 14.4

Days at or below 0 °C 61.2

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 14 days a year at or above 30 °C and 61 days at or below 0 °C, over 21 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the BUXY weather station, 6.6 km away at 230 m; the village itself is at 322 m. ^[11]

The village sits 92 m above the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 5.55 °C per km of altitude before the days were counted. Expect the result to be within about 0.68 °C. ^[11]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 1 day a summer. ^[11]

Humidity measured at ST-MAURICE-LES-COUCHES_SAPC, 14.5 km away at 300 m, over 15 summers. ^[11]

An average of 850 mm of rain a year, spread over 119 days — about 7.1 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at BUXY, 6.6 km away at 230 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 71426/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 71426/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 71426/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 71426/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 71404
INSEE BPE 2025 — 71442
INSEE BPE 2025 — 71426
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
Subligny	89	191 km NW	508	22.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 89 % · humidity 100 %
Boz	01	44 km SE	513	25.8	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.summer 54 % · winter 97 %
Saint-Georges-le-Gaultier	72	396 km NW	517	19	No daily shops	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 78 % · humidity 100 %
Fontaine-Henry	14	472 km NW	528	22.6	Few services	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 67 % · winter 43 % · humidity 100 %
Saint-Maurice-en-Rivière	71	30 km E	532	23.2	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 62 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Sotteville	50	566 km NW	485	26.2	Few services	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 61 % · humidity 100 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Saint-Maurice-en-Rivière	71	30 km E	532	23.2	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 62 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Boz	01	44 km SE	513	25.8	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.summer 54 % · winter 97 %
Subligny	89	191 km NW	508	22.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 89 % · humidity 100 %
Saint-Georges-le-Gaultier	72	396 km NW	517	19	No daily shops	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 78 % · humidity 100 %
Fontaine-Henry	14	472 km NW	528	22.6	Few services	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 67 % · winter 43 % · humidity 100 %
Sotteville	50	566 km NW	485	26.2	Few services	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 61 % · 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 Sainte-Hélène'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
Subligny	89	191 km NW	508	22.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 89 % · humidity 100 %
Avant-lès-Marcilly	10	202 km NW	509	24.2	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 85 % · humidity 100 %
Montilly	03	107 km W	488	19.7	No daily shops	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 88 % · humidity 93 %
Boulogne-la-Grasse	60	349 km NW	472	26.2	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 89 % · humidity 100 %
Belgeard	53	424 km NW	555	26.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 85 % · humidity 100 %
Andelu	78	316 km NW	550	26.6	Few services	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/71426-sainte-helene