Brens
A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink.
Partly served 51.5/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 73 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
Brens (INSEE 81038) is in Tarn (81), part of CA Gaillac-Graulhet. Population 2,423 (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 · Commune website 2026-10-25 · DATAtourisme 2026-10-22.
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/81038-brens
Vitality score
Vitality score 51.5/100 — Partly served (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: high.
Better served than 73 % of the 8,416 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 | 0.26 | 25 | 6.56 |
| Social | 0.79 | 20 | 15.82 |
| Education | 0.39 | 10 | 3.93 |
| Health | 0.2 | 10 | 1.97 |
| Public & culture | 0.2 | 5 | 0.98 |
| Population trend | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Housing mix | 0.9 | 5 | 4.51 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. [3,4]
1 × Bakery (boulangerie) (BOULANGERIE DE LA TOUR DE BRENS). [3,4]
1 × Butcher (boucherie) (BOUCHERIE CHARCUTERIE ARTISANALE TRIPERIE VOLAILLE). [3,4]
6 × Restaurant (LE GLOBE TRAITEUR · O JOJO LA FRITE · LA PLANQUE DES BONS VIVANTS · LES SAVEURS DE LAURENT). [3,4]
2 × Café / bar (LE CHAT FIER). [4]
1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE PRIMAIRE MARCEL CARRIER). [3]
1 × Pharmacy (PHARMACIE DE LA FEDARIE). [3,4]
1 × Post office / agence postale (BRENS AP). [3]
7 × Hairdresser (LORENZO · MARYELL' COIFFURE · UNE BULLE D'HAIR · L'ATELIER DE JESSY · CELINE COIFFURE). [3,4]
1 × Fuel station (STATION SERVICE). [3,4]
1 × Hotel (BRAUCOL HOTEL). [3,4]
Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Restaurant, 2 × GP (médecin généraliste), 1 × Hotel, 1 × Campsite.
Not found in the commune: Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste), Library. [3,4]
All 25 service types, with per-source counts
| Type | Count | Names | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakery (boulangerie) | 1 | BOULANGERIE DE LA TOUR DE BRENS | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4] |
| Butcher (boucherie) | 1 | BOUCHERIE CHARCUTERIE ARTISANALE TRIPERIE VOLAILLE | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [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 | 6 | LE GLOBE TRAITEUR · O JOJO LA FRITE · LA PLANQUE DES BONS VIVANTS · LES SAVEURS DE LAURENT | INSEE BPE 6 / INSEE SIRENE 9 [3,4] |
| Café / bar | 2 | LE CHAT FIER | INSEE SIRENE 2 [4] |
| Nursery school (maternelle) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Primary school (élémentaire) | 1 | ECOLE PRIMAIRE MARCEL CARRIER | INSEE BPE 1 [3] |
| Collège | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| GP (médecin généraliste) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Pharmacy | 1 | PHARMACIE DE LA FEDARIE | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4] |
| Nurse | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Dentist | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Post office / agence postale | 1 | BRENS 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 | 7 | LORENZO · MARYELL' COIFFURE · UNE BULLE D'HAIR · L'ATELIER DE JESSY · CELINE COIFFURE | INSEE BPE 7 / INSEE SIRENE 8 [3,4] |
| Fuel station | 1 | STATION SERVICE | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4] |
| Hotel | 1 | BRAUCOL HOTEL | INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [3,4] |
| Campsite | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3] |
Market and village life
A market is recorded here, but no source gives the day. [5]
Trajectory
Population 2,223 (2012) → 2,423 (2023): 9 % over 10 years. [6,1]
Population 1,364 (1990) → 2,423 (2023): 77.6 % over 30 years. [7,1]
Dwellings (2023): 1,168, of which 4.9 % second homes and 9.6 % vacant. [8]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Brens): 0.1 km to the south-east (straight line). [9]
Food shop (Brens): 0.5 km to the south-east (straight line). [9]
GP (Gaillac): 1 km to the north-west (straight line). [10]
Pharmacy (Brens): 0.5 km to the south (straight line). [9]
Primary school (Brens): 0.3 km to the east (straight line). [9]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 44 days a year at or above 30 °C and 41 days at or below 0 °C, over 23 complete years in 1995–2024. [11]
Measured at the MONTANS weather station, 5 km away at 129 m; the village itself is at 131 m. [11]
Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 4 days a summer. [11]
Humidity measured at ALBI, 16.7 km away at 172 m, over 30 summers. [11]
An average of 700 mm of rain a year, spread over 100 days — about 7 mm on a day it rains. [11]
Rainfall measured at MONTANS, 5 km away at 129 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. [11]
What property sold for
142 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 218,210 € — 1,276 € per m² of built surface. [12]
5 flats sold over the same window, at a median of 128,000 € — 850 € per m². [12]
The median across Tarn is 1,319 € per m², so this commune sits about level with 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
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 81038/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- DATAtourisme 2022-10— https://data.datatourisme.fr/13/2390b7a6-9ca2-339b-9c59-cf127a7ea93c— “Marché de Brens”(unverified)
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 81038/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 81038/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 81038/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 81038
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 81099
- Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
- DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Méreau | 18 | 364 km N | 2,632 | 48.8 | Partly served | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 64 % · winter 84 % · humidity 86 % |
| Coursac | 24 | 171 km NW | 2,380 | 46.5 | Partly served | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 54 % · winter 80 % · humidity 93 % |
| Saint-Marcel-d'Ardèche | 07 | 222 km E | 2,346 | 41.3 | Partly served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 74 % · winter 74 % · humidity 93 % |
| Saint-Dolay | 56 | 514 km NW | 2,645 | 51 | Partly served | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 15 % · winter 88 % · humidity 86 % |
| Mouzillon | 44 | 439 km NW | 2,893 | 46.5 | Partly served | Cooler summers, similar winters.summer 28 % · winter 88 % |
| Bourgvallées | 50 | 619 km N | 3,326 | 35.3 | Few services | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 3 % · winter 84 % · humidity 79 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coursac | 24 | 171 km NW | 2,380 | 46.5 | Partly served | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 54 % · winter 80 % · humidity 93 % |
| Saint-Marcel-d'Ardèche | 07 | 222 km E | 2,346 | 41.3 | Partly served | Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 74 % · winter 74 % · humidity 93 % |
| Méreau | 18 | 364 km N | 2,632 | 48.8 | Partly served | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 64 % · winter 84 % · humidity 86 % |
| Mouzillon | 44 | 439 km NW | 2,893 | 46.5 | Partly served | Cooler summers, similar winters.summer 28 % · winter 88 % |
| Saint-Dolay | 56 | 514 km NW | 2,645 | 51 | Partly served | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 15 % · winter 88 % · humidity 86 % |
| Bourgvallées | 50 | 619 km N | 3,326 | 35.3 | Few services | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 3 % · winter 84 % · humidity 79 % |
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 Brens'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branges | 71 | 399 km NE | 2,386 | 43.8 | Partly served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 96 % · humidity 100 % |
| Beausemblant | 26 | 275 km NE | 1,475 | 38.9 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 91 % · humidity 86 % |
| Grane | 26 | 257 km E | 2,204 | 47.7 | Partly served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 91 % · humidity 86 % |
| Lautrec | 81 | 27 km SE | 1,673 | 60.7 | Served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 97 % · humidity 93 % |
| Mercurol-Veaunes | 26 | 271 km NE | 2,816 | 43.9 | Partly served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 96 % · humidity 86 % |
| Lafrançaise | 82 | 60 km NW | 2,865 | 62.2 | Served | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · 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/81038-brens