Épineu-le-Chevreuil

Identity

Épineu-le-Chevreuil (INSEE 72126) is in Sarthe (72), part of CC LBN Communauté. Population 286 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Rural à habitat très dispersé (level 7). ^[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/72126-epineu-le-chevreuil

Vitality score

Vitality score 19.4/100 — No daily shops (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 44 % 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.

Services

A school, but no food shop and nowhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

1 × Nursery school (maternelle) (ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE JEAN BIGNON). ^[3]

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Restaurant, Café / bar, Primary school (élémentaire), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy, Post office / agence postale, Library. ^[3,4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

Population 295 (2012) → 286 (2023): -3.1 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 257 (1990) → 286 (2023): 11.3 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 174, of which 9.2 % second homes and 20.7 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Chassillé): 1.9 km to the south (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Loué): 5.5 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Loué): 5.3 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Loué): 5.7 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Épineu-le-Chevreuil): 0.1 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[10]

Climate

An average of 15 days a year at or above 30 °C and 40 days at or below 0 °C, over 16 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the EPINEU LE CHEVR weather station, 2.6 km away at 122 m; the village itself is at 90 m. ^[11]

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

Humidity measured at ROUESSE-VASSE, 13.9 km away at 206 m, over 21 summers. ^[11]

That station sits 116 m above the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 4.22 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[11]

An average of 821 mm of rain a year, spread over 123 days — about 6.7 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at EPINEU LE CHEVR, 2.6 km away at 122 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

What property sold for

29 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 82,165 € — 790 € per m² of built surface. ^[12]

The median across Sarthe is 1,300 € per m², so this commune sits below it. ^[12]

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 — 72126/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 72126/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 72126/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 72126/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 72070
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 72168
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 72126
11. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
12. DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025