Merry-la-Vallée
A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink.
Few services 34.5/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 81 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.
Identity
Merry-la-Vallée (INSEE 89251) is in Yonne (89), part of CC de l'Aillantais en Bourgogne. Population 358 (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/89251-merry-la-vallee
Vitality score
Vitality score 34.5/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).
Confidence: high.
Better served than 81 % of the 18,016 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 | 0.21 | 25 | 5.27 |
| Social | 0.32 | 20 | 6.32 |
| Education | 0.63 | 10 | 6.32 |
| Health | 0.32 | 10 | 3.16 |
| Public & culture | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Population trend | 0.54 | 10 | 5.41 |
| Housing mix | 0.57 | 5 | 2.86 |
Services
What is here, at a glance
A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. [3,4]
1 × Bakery (boulangerie). [3,4]
1 × Restaurant (OOLI). [3,4]
1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE). [3]
1 × GP (médecin généraliste) (THIERRY PINAS, MÉDECIN). [3]
Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Hairdresser.
Not found in the commune: Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), Pharmacy, Post office / agence postale, Library. [3,4]
All 25 service types, with per-source counts
| Type | Count | Names | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakery (boulangerie) | 1 | 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 | 1 | OOLI | INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4] |
| Café / bar | 0 | INSEE SIRENE 0 [4] | |
| Nursery school (maternelle) | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| Primary school (élémentaire) | 1 | ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE | INSEE BPE 1 [3] |
| Collège | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 [3] | |
| GP (médecin généraliste) | 1 | THIERRY PINAS, MÉDECIN | INSEE BPE 1 [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 | 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 | 0 | INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3] | |
| 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
Population 401 (2012) → 358 (2023): -10.7 % over 10 years. [5,1]
Population 344 (1990) → 358 (2023): 4.1 % over 30 years. [6,1]
Dwellings (2023): 262, of which 21.4 % second homes and 10.7 % vacant. [7]
Access and surroundings
Which way the everyday services lie
Bakery (Merry-la-Vallée): 0.4 km to the south-west (straight line). [8]
Food shop (Lindry): 6.4 km to the east (straight line). [9]
GP (Merry-la-Vallée): 0.2 km to the south (straight line). [8]
Pharmacy (Pourrain): 7.6 km to the south-east (straight line). [10]
Primary school (Merry-la-Vallée): 0 km to the north (straight line). [8]
Climate
Where this sits nationally
An average of 23 days a year at or above 30 °C and 73 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. [11]
Measured at the AILLANT weather station, 8.4 km away at 124 m; the village itself is at 212 m. [11]
The village sits 88 m above the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 5.55 °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 2 days a summer. [11]
Humidity measured at GRANDCHAMP_SAPC, 10.9 km away at 180 m, over 18 summers. [11]
An average of 756 mm of rain a year, spread over 121 days — about 6.2 mm on a day it rains. [11]
Rainfall measured at POURRAIN, 5.6 km away at 210 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 — 89251/2023
- INSEE density grid 2026
- INSEE BPE 2025
- INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 89251/2012
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 89251/1990
- INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 89251/logement/2023
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 89251
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 89228
- INSEE BPE 2025 — 89311
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audembert | 62 | 361 km N | 424 | 45 | Partly served | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 46 % · winter 24 % · humidity 93 % |
| Labroquère | 31 | 571 km SW | 324 | 32.7 | Few services | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 87 % · winter 82 % · humidity 79 % |
| Chénelette | 69 | 202 km SE | 369 | 36.1 | Few services | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 70 % · humidity 93 % |
| Hultehouse | 57 | 308 km E | 360 | 32.3 | Few services | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 67 % · winter 86 % · humidity 100 % |
| Saint-André-en-Royans | 38 | 339 km SE | 342 | 34.1 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 % |
| Houssay | 41 | 179 km W | 365 | 31.9 | Few services | Similar summers, milder winters.summer 90 % · winter 77 % |
Order by distance instead
| Commune | Dept | Distance | Population | Score | Band | Climate vs here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houssay | 41 | 179 km W | 365 | 31.9 | Few services | Similar summers, milder winters.summer 90 % · winter 77 % |
| Chénelette | 69 | 202 km SE | 369 | 36.1 | Few services | Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 72 % · winter 70 % · humidity 93 % |
| Hultehouse | 57 | 308 km E | 360 | 32.3 | Few services | Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 67 % · winter 86 % · humidity 100 % |
| Saint-André-en-Royans | 38 | 339 km SE | 342 | 34.1 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 % |
| Audembert | 62 | 361 km N | 424 | 45 | Partly served | Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 46 % · winter 24 % · humidity 93 % |
| Labroquère | 31 | 571 km SW | 324 | 32.7 | Few services | Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 87 % · winter 82 % · 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 Merry-la-Vallée'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-André-en-Royans | 38 | 339 km SE | 342 | 34.1 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 % |
| Saint-Maurice | 67 | 303 km E | 332 | 32.8 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 86 % · humidity 100 % |
| Urbeis | 67 | 295 km E | 309 | 28.7 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 % |
| Chavannes-les-Grands | 90 | 279 km E | 345 | 34.3 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 % |
| Pierrefiche | 12 | 374 km S | 303 | 26.4 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 88 % · humidity 93 % |
| Savigny-sur-Seille | 71 | 187 km SE | 385 | 23.8 | Few services | Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 89 % · humidity 86 % |
Elsewhere
Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map
Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/89251-merry-la-vallee