Ardenay-sur-Mérize

Sarthe · CC Le Gesnois Bilurien · INSEE 72007

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

Few services 32.2/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 66 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Ardenay-sur-Mérize (INSEE 72007) is in Sarthe (72), part of CC Le Gesnois Bilurien. Population 504 (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/72007-ardenay-sur-merize

Vitality score

Vitality score 32.2/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 66 % of the 17,756 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	0.32	20	6.32
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.32	5	1.58
Population trend	0.87	10	8.66
Housing mix	0.9	5	4.49

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 0 of 6

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

1 × Restaurant (CLEDIC). ^[3,4]

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

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHÈQUE MAISON POUR TOUS). ^[3]

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, 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	1	CLEDIC	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Café / bar	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE 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	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Library	1	BIBLIOTHÈQUE MAISON POUR TOUS	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 BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [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

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

Trajectory

1968: 237 2023: 504 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 493 (2012) → 504 (2023): 2.2 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 369 (1990) → 504 (2023): 36.6 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 234, of which 5.1 % second homes and 6.8 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Primary school GP — 4.0 km EBakery — 4.1 km EPharmacy — 4.1 km EFood shop — 5.1 km S 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 Breil-sur-Mérize): 4.1 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Challes): 5.1 km to the south (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Le Breil-sur-Mérize): 4 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Le Breil-sur-Mérize): 4.1 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Ardenay-sur-Mérize): 0.1 km to the north (straight line). ^[10]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 22.8

Days at or below 0 °C 58

Muggy days a summer 1.2

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 23 days a year at or above 30 °C and 58 days at or below 0 °C, over 21 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the SAINT CORNEILLE weather station, 11.1 km away at 62 m; the village itself is at 86 m. ^[11]

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

Humidity measured at LE LUART, 15.3 km away at 112 m, over 20 summers. ^[11]

An average of 722 mm of rain a year, spread over 118 days — about 6.1 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at BOULOIRE, 5.1 km away at 134 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 — 72007/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 72007/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 72007/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 72007/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 72046
INSEE BPE 2025 — 72053
INSEE BPE 2025 — 72007
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
Belmont-Tramonet	73	483 km SE	505	37.5	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 67 % · winter 88 % · humidity 86 %
Colombe-lès-Vesoul	70	434 km E	492	32.5	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 79 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 %
Plainoiseau	39	411 km E	502	29.2	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 89 % · humidity 86 %
Courchamps	49	99 km SW	533	33.6	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 66 % · humidity 93 %
Teilhède	63	303 km SE	536	35.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Quentin-les-Anges	53	101 km W	472	30.1	Few services	Cooler summers and milder winters.summer 77 % · winter 78 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Courchamps	49	99 km SW	533	33.6	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 66 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Quentin-les-Anges	53	101 km W	472	30.1	Few services	Cooler summers and milder winters.summer 77 % · winter 78 %
Teilhède	63	303 km SE	536	35.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 %
Plainoiseau	39	411 km E	502	29.2	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 89 % · humidity 86 %
Colombe-lès-Vesoul	70	434 km E	492	32.5	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 79 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 %
Belmont-Tramonet	73	483 km SE	505	37.5	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 67 % · winter 88 % · humidity 86 %

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 Ardenay-sur-Mérize'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
Plainoiseau	39	411 km E	502	29.2	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 89 % · humidity 86 %
Teilhède	63	303 km SE	536	35.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 %
La Chapelle-Villars	42	431 km SE	528	33.6	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 99 % · humidity 100 %
Essertenne	71	337 km E	483	27.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 95 % · humidity 100 %
Vaumas	03	297 km SE	528	28.9	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 96 % · humidity 100 %
Essertines-en-Donzy	42	388 km SE	477	29.7	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/72007-ardenay-sur-merize