Saxel

Identity

Saxel (INSEE 74261) is in Haute-Savoie (74), part of CC de la Vallée Verte. Population 518 (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/74261-saxel

Vitality score

Vitality score 31.2/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 62 % of the 17,686 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

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

1 × Restaurant (LE CAFE DU COL). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar. ^[4]

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

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Nursery school (maternelle), 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 429 (2012) → 518 (2023): 20.7 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 255 (1990) → 518 (2023): 103.1 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 255, of which 11 % second homes and 5.9 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Bons-en-Chablais): 3.5 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Bons-en-Chablais): 3.2 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Brenthonne): 3.1 km to the north (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Bons-en-Chablais): 3.2 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Bons-en-Chablais): 2.9 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

An average of 6 days a year at or above 30 °C and 79 days at or below 0 °C, over 15 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the DOUVAINE SA weather station, 8.8 km away at 470 m; the village itself is at 928 m. ^[10]

The village sits 458 m above the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 6.06 °C per km of altitude before the days were counted. Expect the result to be within about 0.68 °C. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at THONON-INRAE, 14.3 km away at 376 m, over 30 summers. ^[10]

That station sits 552 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[10]

An average of 1,498 mm of rain a year, spread over 129 days — about 11.6 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at BOEGE, 3.5 km away at 750 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

What property sold for

21 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 290,000 € — 3,238 € per m² of built surface. ^[11]

The median across Haute-Savoie is 4,214 € per m², so this commune sits below it. ^[11]

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 — 74261/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 74261/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 74261/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 74261/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 74043
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 74048
10. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
11. DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025