Verchaix
A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink.
Served 60.5/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 97 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
Verchaix (INSEE 74294) is in Haute-Savoie (74), part of CC des Montagnes du Giffre. Population 830 (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 · DATAtourisme 2026-10-22.
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/74294-verchaix
Vitality score
Vitality score 60.5/100 — Served (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: high.
Better served than 97 % of the 15,439 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 | 0.42 | 25 | 10.54 |
| Social | 0.93 | 20 | 18.64 |
| Education | 0.63 | 10 | 6.32 |
| Health | 0.43 | 10 | 4.32 |
| Public & culture | 0.32 | 5 | 1.58 |
| Population trend | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Housing mix | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. [3,4]
1 × Bakery (boulangerie) (COMME AU BON VIEUX TEMPS). [3,4]
1 × Butcher (boucherie) (ARVI PATES). [3]
8 × Restaurant (L'ALPISTE · LE WETZET). [3,4]
2 × Café / bar. [4]
1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE PRIMAIRE PUBLIQUE LE CADELET VERCHAIX). [3]
2 × GP (médecin généraliste) (CATHERINE BOUVIER, MÉDECIN · KARLIJN KEUNEN, MÉDECIN). [3]
1 × Post office / agence postale (VERCHAIX MORILLON AP). [3]
1 × Hairdresser (LA PETITE MARCHANDE DE COULEURS & SUN FLOWER). [3,4]
1 × Campsite (CAMPING MUNICIPAL). [3,4]
Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Restaurant.
Not found in the commune: Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Nursery school (maternelle), Pharmacy, Library. [3,4]
All 25 service types, with per-source counts
| Type | Count | Names | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakery (boulangerie) | 1 | COMME AU BON VIEUX TEMPS | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4] |
| Butcher (boucherie) | 1 | ARVI PATES | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3] |
| 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 | 8 | L'ALPISTE · LE WETZET | INSEE BPE 8 / INSEE SIRENE 11 [3,4] |
| Café / bar | 2 | INSEE SIRENE 2 [4] | |
| Nursery school (maternelle) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Primary school (élémentaire) | 1 | ECOLE PRIMAIRE PUBLIQUE LE CADELET VERCHAIX | INSEE BPE 1 [3] |
| Collège | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| GP (médecin généraliste) | 2 | CATHERINE BOUVIER, MÉDECIN · KARLIJN KEUNEN, MÉDECIN | INSEE BPE 2 [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 | 1 | VERCHAIX MORILLON AP | INSEE BPE 1 [3] |
| Library | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [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 | 1 | LA PETITE MARCHANDE DE COULEURS & SUN FLOWER | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4] |
| Fuel station | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4] | |
| Hotel | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 2 / INSEE BPE 0 [4] | |
| Campsite | 1 | CAMPING MUNICIPAL | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4] |
Market and village life
A market is recorded here, but no source gives the day. [5]
Trajectory
Population 665 (2012) → 830 (2023): 24.8 % over 10 years. [6,1]
Population 391 (1990) → 830 (2023): 112.3 % over 30 years. [7,1]
Dwellings (2023): 913, of which 55.3 % second homes and 3.1 % vacant. [8]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Verchaix): 0.7 km to the south (straight line). [9]
Food shop (Verchaix): 0.6 km to the south (straight line). [9]
GP (Verchaix): 0.6 km to the south-west (straight line). [9]
Pharmacy (Morillon): 1.4 km to the south (straight line). [10]
Primary school (Verchaix): 0.1 km to the west (straight line). [9]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 13 days a year at or above 30 °C and 103 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. [11]
Measured at the SAMOENS weather station, 4.1 km away at 785 m; the village itself is at 795 m. [11]
Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. [11]
Humidity measured at LE PLENEY, 8.1 km away at 1,515 m, over 25 summers. [11]
That station sits 720 m above the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. [11]
An average of 1,584 mm of rain a year, spread over 139 days — about 11.4 mm on a day it rains. [11]
Rainfall measured at SAMOENS, 4.1 km away at 785 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 — 74294/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- DATAtourisme 2023-10— https://data.datatourisme.fr/13/fa0cb259-4b20-3d99-94bb-bb6211dcaf4b— “Marché Local”(unverified)
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 74294/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 74294/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 74294/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 74294
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 74190
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coucouron | 07 | 255 km SW | 777 | 62.1 | Served | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 86 % · humidity 100 % |
| Arette | 64 | 673 km SW | 1,032 | 54.6 | Partly served | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 87 % · winter 12 % · humidity 36 % |
| Réville | 50 | 709 km NW | 1,040 | 39.1 | Few services | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 0 % · humidity 93 % |
| Massat | 09 | 553 km SW | 749 | 70.6 | Served | Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 74 % · winter 96 % · humidity 86 % |
| Gorges du Tarn Causses | 48 | 320 km SW | 881 | 75 | Served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 26 % · winter 30 % · humidity 93 % |
| La Brigue | 06 | 238 km S | 763 | 46.5 | Partly served | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 61 % · humidity 100 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Brigue | 06 | 238 km S | 763 | 46.5 | Partly served | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 61 % · humidity 100 % |
| Coucouron | 07 | 255 km SW | 777 | 62.1 | Served | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 86 % · humidity 100 % |
| Gorges du Tarn Causses | 48 | 320 km SW | 881 | 75 | Served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 26 % · winter 30 % · humidity 93 % |
| Massat | 09 | 553 km SW | 749 | 70.6 | Served | Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 74 % · winter 96 % · humidity 86 % |
| Arette | 64 | 673 km SW | 1,032 | 54.6 | Partly served | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 87 % · winter 12 % · humidity 36 % |
| Réville | 50 | 709 km NW | 1,040 | 39.1 | Few services | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 0 % · 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 Verchaix'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ventron | 88 | 206 km N | 805 | 30.7 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 100 % · humidity 93 % |
| La Chapelle-en-Vercors | 26 | 159 km SW | 797 | 70.5 | Served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 96 % · humidity 100 % |
| Le Ménil | 88 | 202 km N | 970 | 42.2 | Partly served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 % |
| Arreau | 65 | 614 km SW | 725 | 68 | Served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 92 % · humidity 100 % |
| Bugeat | 19 | 372 km W | 719 | 52.8 | Partly served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 89 % · humidity 93 % |
| Ruynes-en-Margeride | 15 | 295 km SW | 719 | 68.5 | Served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 100 % · humidity 100 % |
Elsewhere
Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/74294-verchaix