La Merlatière

Vendée · CC du Pays de Saint-Fulgent - Les Essarts · INSEE 85142

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

Few services 31.7/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 37 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

La Merlatière (INSEE 85142) is in Vendée (85), part of CC du Pays de Saint-Fulgent - Les Essarts. Population 1,009 (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/85142-la-merlatiere

Vitality score

Vitality score 31.7/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 37 % of the 14,279 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	0.13	25	3.28
Social	0.2	20	3.93
Education	0.39	10	3.93
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.2	5	0.98
Population trend	1	10	10
Housing mix	0.97	5	4.86

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 1 of 6

Eating out 0 of 1

Cafés and bars 1 of 1

Schools 1 of 3

Health 0 of 4

Public services 0 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 0 of 2

Everyday services 1 of 3

Lodging 0 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 FOURNIL D'EN BAS). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar. ^[4]

1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PRIVEE R.P.I.D ESSARTS EN BOCAGE). ^[3]

1 × Library (MÉDIATHÈQUE DE LA MERLATIÈRE). ^[3]

1 × Hairdresser (M-J COIFFE). ^[3,4]

Not found in the commune: Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Restaurant, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy, Post office / agence postale. ^[3,4]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	1	LE FOURNIL D'EN BAS	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [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	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Café / bar	1		INSEE SIRENE 1 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PRIVEE R.P.I.D ESSARTS EN BOCAGE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [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	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Library	1	MÉDIATHÈQUE DE LA MERLATIÈRE	INSEE BPE 1 [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	M-J COIFFE	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Fuel station	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Hotel	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Campsite	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

1968: 529 2023: 1,009 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 982 (2012) → 1,009 (2023): 2.7 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 603 (1990) → 1,009 (2023): 67.3 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 438, of which 1.4 % second homes and 5.3 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Bakery, Primary school Food shop — 5.1 km EPharmacy — 5.2 km EGP — 5.5 km E 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 (La Merlatière): 0.2 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Essarts-en-Bocage): 5.1 km to the east (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Essarts-en-Bocage): 5.5 km to the east (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Essarts-en-Bocage): 5.2 km to the east (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (La Merlatière): 0.3 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 12.9

Days at or below 0 °C 32.6

Muggy days a summer 2.3

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 13 days a year at or above 30 °C and 33 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the LA ROCHE SUR YON weather station, 9.1 km away at 88 m; the village itself is at 80 m. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 2 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at LA ROCHE SUR YON, 9.1 km away at 88 m, over 30 summers. ^[10]

An average of 878 mm of rain a year, spread over 121 days — about 7.3 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at LA ROCHE SUR YON, 9.1 km away at 88 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 85142/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 85142/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 85142/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 85142/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 85142
INSEE BPE 2025 — 85084
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
Précieux	42	440 km E	1,042	30	Few services	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 34 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Georges-sur-Fontaine	76	359 km NE	950	39.4	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 80 % · humidity 93 %
Chevroux	01	480 km E	990	40	Partly served	Warmer summers and colder winters.summer 51 % · winter 59 %
Bernoy-le-Château	02	447 km NE	825	34.1	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 76 % · humidity 93 %
Asnières-sur-Nouère	16	157 km SE	1,272	28.9	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 77 % · winter 99 % · humidity 79 %
Bouquehault	62	509 km NE	788	42.6	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 79 % · winter 78 % · humidity 93 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Asnières-sur-Nouère	16	157 km SE	1,272	28.9	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 77 % · winter 99 % · humidity 79 %
Saint-Georges-sur-Fontaine	76	359 km NE	950	39.4	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 85 % · winter 80 % · humidity 93 %
Précieux	42	440 km E	1,042	30	Few services	Warmer summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 34 % · humidity 93 %
Bernoy-le-Château	02	447 km NE	825	34.1	Few services	Similar summers, colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 76 % · humidity 93 %
Chevroux	01	480 km E	990	40	Partly served	Warmer summers and colder winters.summer 51 % · winter 59 %
Bouquehault	62	509 km NE	788	42.6	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 79 % · winter 78 % · 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 La Merlatière'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
Bouessay	53	141 km NE	714	37.5	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 %
Cheffois	85	41 km E	1,009	34.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 89 % · humidity 100 %
Hombleux	80	458 km NE	1,111	26.7	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 %
Le Petit-Fougeray	35	131 km N	901	36.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 100 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Malo-de-Phily	35	129 km N	1,081	27.5	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 91 % · humidity 100 %
Saint-Perreux	56	117 km NW	1,086	26.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 99 % · humidity 100 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/85142-la-merlatiere