La Forge

Identity

La Forge (INSEE 88177) is in Vosges (88), part of CC des Hautes Vosges. Population 517 (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/88177-la-forge

Vitality score

Vitality score 26.8/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 48 % of the 17,723 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

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

2 × Restaurant (VILLEMIN LISE · O KAM DU TERROIR). ^[3,4]

1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE PRIMAIRE - LES GRILLONS -). ^[3]

1 × Hairdresser (DE MECHE AVEC VOUS). ^[3,4]

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, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), 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 559 (2012) → 517 (2023): -7.5 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 514 (1990) → 517 (2023): 0.6 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 345, of which 22.6 % second homes and 8.7 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Le Syndicat): 2.2 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Le Tholy): 4 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Le Tholy): 2.4 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Le Tholy): 2.5 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (La Forge): 0 km to the south (straight line). ^[10]

Climate

An average of 9 days a year at or above 30 °C and 55 days at or below 0 °C, over 18 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the VAGNEY weather station, 3.2 km away at 805 m; the village itself is at 497 m. ^[11]

The village sits 308 m below the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 5.89 °C per km of altitude before the days were counted. Expect the result to be within about 0.68 °C. ^[11]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 1 day a summer. ^[11]

Humidity measured at VAGNEY, 3.2 km away at 805 m, over 18 summers. ^[11]

That station sits 308 m above the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.63 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[11]

An average of 1,500 mm of rain a year, spread over 153 days — about 9.8 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at VAGNEY, 3.2 km away at 805 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 88177/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 88177/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 88177/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 88177/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 88462
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 88470
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 88177
11. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024