Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
702 residents make their home in this town in Co. Carlow.
The median home here went for €197,000, 4 times the median household income. Its architectural heritage runs to 22 buildings on the national inventory. 26% of residents are 65 or over. 20% of adults have a degree.
Borris is too small to grade: Irish towns get subject grades from 1,000 residents.
The 3 things Borris does most differently from other towns.
22 buildings on the National Inventory inside Borris, one of them of national importance.
The record adds 8 archaeological sites.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Borris.
Radon: 100% of homes are in high-radon areas, about level with Co. Carlow’s towns (100%) and above Irish towns (0%). Few of its homes stand low beside water.
| Share of homes | Borris | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 2.4% | under 0.1% | 0% |
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 100% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
July afternoons reach 20.2°C here, near Co. Carlow’s towns (20.3°C) and higher than Irish towns (19.9°C). Borris sees January nights of 2.2°C on average. November is the wettest month in the town, with 102 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Borris | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.2°C | 2.3°C | 2.9°C |
| July high | 20.2°C | 20.3°C | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.1°C | 10.1°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
At the census, 84% of people in Borris called their health good or very good, near Co. Carlow’s towns (85%) and lower than Irish towns (88%). 2.9% of residents report bad or very bad health. Ages taken into account, Borris counts 110 people in poor health for every 100 predicted.
| Census 2022 | Borris | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a disability | 31% | 24% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.9% | 2.5% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 84% | 85% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Private renters make up 15% of households, below Co. Carlow’s towns (22%) and Irish towns (22%) alike. The owner-occupied share of households is 55%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €197,000 | 41 |
| Housing | Borris | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 29% | 24% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €197K | €250K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 15% | 22% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 55% | 54% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Among the protected sites near Borris is River Barrow. Woodland covers a tenth of the land within 1 km, above Co. Carlow’s towns (1.3%) and Irish towns (2.7%) alike. Walkers have 6 waymarked trails and greenways starting within 5 km.
| Outdoors | Borris | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 9.8% | 1.3% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 57% | 72% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 4.3% | 2% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.3 km per km² | 0.5 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Rain peaks later in the week on Tuesday, at about 4 mm for the day. Only a trace of rain is due today, on a breeze of up to 26 km/h, with a low of 5°C. December follows with normal highs of 9°C and lows of 3°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 250 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 185 mm |
| Summer | 20°C | 11°C | 207 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 276 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Just over a fifth of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above Co. Carlow’s towns (17%) and close to Irish towns (23%). At the census, nearly three fifths of people aged 15 to 64 had a job. Home was the main workplace for 12% of workers at the census.
| Census 2022 | Borris | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 18% | 12% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 53% | 43% | 31% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 59% | 62% | 68% |
| Average trip | 22.1 min | 25.1 min | 27.6 min |
CSO, Census 2022 travel to work, work and education · CSO Geographical Profiles of Income 2022 · Live Register · Census day was 3 April 2022, with working from home still common; shares are of those who travelled.
People 65 and over make up 26% of the town. 19% are under 15, below both Co. Carlow’s towns (20%) and Irish towns (20%). One measure of its mix: 16% of residents were born abroad.
Women make up 52.8% of Borris
371 women and 331 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Borris | Co. Carlow | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 20% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 8.1% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 26% | 12% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 13% | 12% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 20% | 19% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7% | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 20% | 19% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Carlow and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
There is no majority on Carlow County Council; Fine Gael have the most seats, 6 of 18, short of 10. Borris answers to one council, Carlow County Council; Ireland has no town tier. It sits in the Muinebheag local electoral area, which elects 5 councillors.
| Turnout | Borris | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 51% | 49% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Relative to its size, Borris keeps 313 buildings on the inventory per 10,000 residents, above both Co. Carlow’s towns (37) and Irish towns (48). There are 8 entries on the national archaeological record here.
| Heritage | Borris | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 313 | 37 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 21.2% | 3.5% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 8 | 19 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Families in Borris have 2 schools within 3 km to choose from: 1 primary school and 1 secondary school. The nearest secondary, Borris College, is 1.5 km away.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Borris Mxd N.S.Largest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 196 | Catholic |
| Borris CollegeLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 558 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Borris | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 50% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 0% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +1% | +4% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland publishes no school-by-school results, which is why these cards have no letters.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Borris. Best known first.
MuseumBorris Housein townMuseumMuseumSt Moling's Trail - Driving Routein townGardenGardenHerb Garden at Kilgraney House5 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumGoodly Barrow Museum4.4 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Borris’ built heritage counts 22 inventory entries; 1 carry national or international standing. Archaeologists have recorded 8 sites here.
6 notable people were born in Borris.
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borris | 702 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Graiguenamanagh-Tinnahinch Kilkenny | 1,506 | 7.1 | — | A | A+ | C |
| Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) | 2,945 | 11 | B+ | B+ | A− | C |
| Thomastown Kilkenny | 2,305 | 16 | — | B | B+ | C− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
The median age in Borris is 46.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Borris had 702 people at the 2022 census, up from 681 in 2016: 3.1% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Carlow
702 people live in Borris, in the area of Carlow County Council. TownRatings uses the CSO’s 2022 Urban Areas as Ireland’s towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a county or a council area, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from Tailte Éireann’s boundaries and the CSO’s Census 2022 (CC BY 4.0)
Sources: CSO, Census 2022 Small Area Population Statistics (CC BY 4.0) · Tailte Éireann, Urban Areas and Electoral Divisions 2022 (CC BY 4.0). Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).