Spay

Sarthe · CC du Val de Sarthe · INSEE 72344

A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink.

Partly served 50.1/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 63 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Spay (INSEE 72344) is in Sarthe (72), part of CC du Val de Sarthe. Population 2,808 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Bourgs ruraux (level 5). ^[2]

Data vintages: INSEE BPE 2025 · INSEE SIRENE 2026-09 · INSEE census (RP) 2023 · INSEE COG 2026 · INSEE density grid 2026 · Commune website 2026-10-24.

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/72344-spay

Vitality score

Vitality score 50.1/100 — Partly served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 63 % of the 7,529 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	0.47	25	11.83
Social	0.39	20	7.77
Education	0.39	10	3.93
Health	0.51	10	5.13
Public & culture	0.39	5	1.97
Population trend	0.71	10	7.13
Housing mix	0.96	5	4.82

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 3 of 6

Eating out 1 of 1

Cafés and bars 0 of 1

Schools 2 of 3

Health 2 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 2 of 2

Everyday services 1 of 3

Lodging 1 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 food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

1 × Bakery (boulangerie) (LE CHANT DE LA FOURNEE). ^[3,4]

2 × Butcher (boucherie) (CHEZ VINCENT). ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (DAG SPAY). ^[3,4]

3 × Restaurant (WAKE PARADISE · LE PRELANDON · CHEZ PAUL). ^[3,4]

1 × Nursery school (maternelle) (ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE LES PETITS PAS). ^[3]

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

2 × GP (médecin généraliste) (ISABELLE BERDER, MÉDECIN · ANNE-LISE RABY, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

1 × Pharmacy (PHARMACIE MENAGER). ^[3,4]

1 × Post office / agence postale (SPAY LPR RP). ^[3]

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

1 × Gym / sports hall (COMPLEXE SPORTIF FERNAND TAVANO). ^[3]

1 × Swimming pool (DOMAINE DU HOUSSAY). ^[3]

4 × Hairdresser (A'SPAY CREATIF · SYLVIE COIFFURE · L'IMAGE DE SOI). ^[3,4]

1 × Campsite (DOMAINE DE LA HOUSSAY). ^[3]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 2 × Butcher (boucherie).

Not found in the commune: Supermarket, Café / bar. ^[3,4]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	1	LE CHANT DE LA FOURNEE	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	2	CHEZ VINCENT	INSEE SIRENE 2 / INSEE BPE 0 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	1	DAG SPAY	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [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	3	WAKE PARADISE · LE PRELANDON · CHEZ PAUL	INSEE BPE 3 / INSEE SIRENE 3 [3,4]
Café / bar	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	1	ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE LES PETITS PAS	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PUBLIQUE ALBERT GREGOIRE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	2	ISABELLE BERDER, MÉDECIN · ANNE-LISE RABY, MÉDECIN	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
Pharmacy	1	PHARMACIE MENAGER	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Nurse	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Dentist	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Post office / agence postale	1	SPAY LPR RP	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	1	BIBLIOTHÈQUE MUNICIPALE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Gym / sports hall	1	COMPLEXE SPORTIF FERNAND TAVANO	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Swimming pool	1	DOMAINE DU HOUSSAY	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Bank	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Hairdresser	4	A'SPAY CREATIF · SYLVIE COIFFURE · L'IMAGE DE SOI	INSEE BPE 4 / INSEE SIRENE 5 [3,4]
Fuel station	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Hotel	0		INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Campsite	1	DOMAINE DE LA HOUSSAY	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

1968: 814 peak 2012: 2,890 2023: 2,808 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 2,890 (2012) → 2,808 (2023): -2.8 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 2,314 (1990) → 2,808 (2023): 21.3 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 1,251, of which 1.8 % second homes and 2.4 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Bakery, Food shop, Primary school, GP, Pharmacy 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 (Spay): 0.1 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Spay): 0.1 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Spay): 0.1 km to the west (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Spay): 0.1 km to the west (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Spay): 0.2 km to the west (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 16.5

Days at or below 0 °C 37.5

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 17 days a year at or above 30 °C and 38 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[9]

Measured at the LE MANS weather station, 4 km away at 51 m; the village itself is at 43 m. ^[9]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 1 day a summer. ^[9]

Humidity measured at LE MANS, 4 km away at 51 m, over 30 summers. ^[9]

An average of 701 mm of rain a year, spread over 112 days — about 6.3 mm on a day it rains. ^[9]

Rainfall measured at LE MANS, 4 km away at 51 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[9]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 72344/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 72344/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 72344/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 72344/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 72344
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
Smarves	86	158 km S	2,941	54	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 %
Iteuil	86	160 km S	2,989	45.7	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Étienne-de-Crossey	38	506 km SE	2,619	52.2	Partly served	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 46 % · humidity 93 %
Scherwiller	67	541 km E	3,099	39.6	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 69 % · humidity 93 %
Albias	82	438 km S	3,240	42	Partly served	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 3 % · winter 77 % · humidity 64 %
Saint-Martin-le-Beau	37	85 km SE	3,216	38.3	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 95 % · humidity 93 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Saint-Martin-le-Beau	37	85 km SE	3,216	38.3	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 95 % · humidity 93 %
Smarves	86	158 km S	2,941	54	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 %
Iteuil	86	160 km S	2,989	45.7	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 %
Albias	82	438 km S	3,240	42	Partly served	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 3 % · winter 77 % · humidity 64 %
Saint-Étienne-de-Crossey	38	506 km SE	2,619	52.2	Partly served	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 46 % · humidity 93 %
Scherwiller	67	541 km E	3,099	39.6	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 69 % · humidity 93 %

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 Spay'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
Smarves	86	158 km S	2,941	54	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 %
Iteuil	86	160 km S	2,989	45.7	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 93 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Martin-le-Beau	37	85 km SE	3,216	38.3	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 95 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Mars-d'Outillé	72	15 km SE	2,483	46.9	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 86 % · humidity 100 %
Saint-Georges-sur-Eure	28	105 km NE	2,797	52.7	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 92 % · humidity 100 %
Saint-Lambert-la-Potherie	49	79 km SW	2,974	48.5	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 91 % · humidity 93 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/72344-spay