Occhieppo Inferiore: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Biella, Piemonte. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
Liveability index free for any address
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Search for an address in Occhieppo Inferiore
The report looks at the exact point: landslide and flood risk, seismic zone, price per square metre for the area, services and nearby stops.
For example: Via Martiri della Liberta' 1, Occhieppo Inferiore.
Occhieppo Inferiore, on Biella's western edge
Occhieppo Inferiore joins Biella on its western side, so closely that in many places you cannot tell where the town ends and the municipality begins. It lies where the Biella plain starts rising towards the Alpine foothills, and it has followed the area's history: wool spinning and weaving provided work for generations, and a few industrial buildings still mark the landscape. Today it is mainly a residential place for people working in and around Biella.
The municipality is densely built, with more than a quarter of its land covered by buildings and roads. There are detached houses with gardens, blocks of flats from the 1960s and 1970s and older houses in the historic cores. In buildings of that era the costs to budget for are mainly façades, insulation and boilers, because climate zone E means long, cold winters.
The population is elderly, as across the Biella area. In 2023 there were 3,759 residents, down 5.6% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office, with an average age of 49.6, practically the same as the provincial 49.7. Over-65s make up 30.7% and foreign residents 6.5%. Occhieppo Inferiore ranks 7 in the province by population. Average declared incomes are slightly below the provincial level.
Seismic hazard is low: the municipality is in zone 3 of the Civil Protection classification, with an expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of about 0.042 g, a low value. In the province, 50 municipalities are in zone 4 and 24 in zone 3.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps. Streams coming down from the foothills cross the area, so closeness to watercourses and the flood maps are checked for the address.
Key points
- Residential municipality joined to Biella on the west side.
- 3,759 residents in 2023, over-65s at 30.7%.
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.042 g.
- Blocks from the 1960s and 1970s: assess insulation and boilers.
Overview
Occhieppo Inferiore is a municipality in the province of Biella, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 3,759 residents, among the most populous in the province (7 of 74).
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Occhieppo Inferiore is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Only 24 of 74 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.042 g, a low value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.
Population
Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 5.6%. The estimated average age is 50 years, in line with the province. 31% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 6.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Occhieppo Inferiore declared an average taxable income of 24,323 euros, in line with the province (25,111 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Occhieppo Inferiore is in climate zone E, with 2,576 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 October to 15 April, for up to 14 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 410 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Occhieppo Inferiore has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 5 grocery shops and supermarkets and 1 sports facility.
The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
Public transport
We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.
How built-up it is
Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 26.2% of the land in Occhieppo Inferiore, compared with 8.0% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Occhieppo Inferiore is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Piemonte in 2023. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.
Official databases list no open contaminated sites in Occhieppo Inferiore; one has been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Occhieppo Inferiore: the report checks the address against the ISPRA maps.
House prices
The Revenue Agency's price ranges per square metre (OMI) apply to zones, not to whole municipalities: the report gives the range for the address's zone.
Land registry
The cadastral maps for Occhieppo Inferiore are public: from the address the report finds the sheet and parcel number.
Liveability area by area
The Vicinalia liveability index runs from 0 to 100 and looks at the place, not the people who live there: services within walking distance, transport, green space, natural hazards, air, quiet, buildings and connection. Here it is worked out at the centre of each of the 23 inhabited census areas in Occhieppo Inferiore. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 64 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 51.1%
- good 48.9%
Vicinalia index by census area, licence CC BY-SA 4.0. Data: IdroGEO ISPRA (2026), Istat, INGV, EEA, AGCOM, Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap.
The colour is the value at the centre of the area. For an exact address, search for it above: the free check looks at that exact point. How the index is worked out
Data sources
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Radon priority areas (Legislative Decree 101/2020), Regione Piemonte, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2023.
- Contaminated sites, Regione Piemonte, Anagrafe regionale dei siti contaminati (ASCO). Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 9 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 096040. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.