Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
269 people call this town in Co. Carlow home.
Kernanstown takes 4.4 years of the median household income to buy the median home, at €272,400. The car is not the only way to work here: 6% of commuters walk, cycle or use public transport. Mortgage-free owners make up 72% of households. People aged 65 and over make up 26% of residents.
Kernanstown has no grades yet: Irish towns are graded from 1,000 residents up.
The 3 things Kernanstown does most differently from other towns.
The record adds 1 archaeological site.
Homes built before 1919: 11%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Kernanstown. Best known first.
CastleCarlow Castle4 km outside town, to the west
CathedralCathedral of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary3.5 km outside town, to the west
MuseumCounty Carlow Military Museum3.9 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumCarlow County Museum3.5 km outside town, to the westArt galleryArt galleryVISUAL3.6 km outside town, to the westCathedralCathedralCarlow Cathedral3.5 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Kernanstown.
The nearest secondary, Presentation College, is 2.6 km away. DEIS, the support scheme, covers 20% of them, lower than both Co. Carlow’s towns (50%) and Irish towns (35%). 5 schools lie within 3 km of Kernanstown: 3 primary schools and 2 secondary schools.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Family National School DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 592 | Catholic |
| Presentation CollegeLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 801 | Catholic |
| Gaelscoil Eoghain Uí Thuairisc GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 444 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Kernanstown | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 40% | 0% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −7% | +4% | +4% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 20% | 50% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
100% of its homes sit in high-radon areas, about level with Co. Carlow’s towns (100%) and above Irish towns (0%). The ground under Kernanstown carries no high landslide susceptibility. Low ground by water holds almost none of its homes.
| Share of homes | Kernanstown | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 100% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 6.9% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Here July highs average 20.2°C, near Co. Carlow’s towns (20.3°C) and higher than Irish towns (19.9°C). Taken over the whole year, the average temperature in Kernanstown is 10.0°C. The town gets 867 mm of rain a year.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Kernanstown | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.1°C | 2.3°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.0°C | 10.1°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 20.2°C | 20.3°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 867 mm | 892 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Disability touches 28% of Kernanstown’s population. At the census, 3.1% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above Co. Carlow’s towns (2.5%) and Irish towns (2%) alike. Weighed against its ages, disability in the town runs at 104 per 100 expected.
| Census 2022 | Kernanstown | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 85% | 88% |
| With a disability | 28% | 24% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.1% | 2.5% | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.9% | 5.3% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Social housing holds 5% of households. 3% rent privately, lower than both Co. Carlow’s towns (22%) and Irish towns (22%).
| Housing | Kernanstown | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 88% | 54% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 5% | 24% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 3% | 22% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €272K | €250K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area R93, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Walkers have 0.1 km per km² of paths and tracks, near Co. Carlow’s towns (0.5 km per km²) and lower than Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Green space in Kernanstown works out at 4.9 ha per 1,000 people. 3 waymarked trails and greenways begin within 5 km.
| Outdoors | Kernanstown | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 57% | 72% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.1% | 1.3% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.1 km per km² | 0.5 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0.8% | 2% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Judged by the averages, Kernanstown sees November days reach 11°C and nights fall to 4°C. It should stay dry today, with a fresh breeze of up to 20 km/h and a low near 8°C. Over the coming week, 5 of 6 days look dry.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 231 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 177 mm |
| Summer | 20°C | 11°C | 203 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 257 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
81% of commuters drove, above Co. Carlow’s towns (73%) and Irish towns (66%) alike. On average, the journey to work lasts 22.7 min. Household income averages €62,060 a year before tax.
| Census 2022 | Kernanstown | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 47% | 43% | 31% |
| Average trip | 22.7 min | 25.1 min | 27.6 min |
| Unemployment rate | 13% | 12% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €62,060 | €46,763 | €57,760 |
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.
The 15-to-24 age group: 11%, lower than both Co. Carlow’s towns (12%) and Irish towns (12%). Over-65s are just over a quarter of the population. Also worth knowing: 21% of adults hold a degree.
Women make up 47.6% of Kernanstown
128 women and 141 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Kernanstown | Co. Carlow | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 20% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 26% | 12% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 20% | 12% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 19% | 19% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 34% | 38% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6% | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 21% | 19% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Carlow and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
44% of voters turned out at the last local elections, below Co. Carlow’s towns (49%) and Irish towns (46%) alike. Carlow County Council is the council for Kernanstown, and the only one: Ireland has a single tier of local government. Fine Gael lead Carlow County Council with 6 of 18 seats, but no party has a majority: 10 are needed.
| Turnout | Kernanstown | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 44% | 49% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The Sites and Monuments Record holds 1 entries for the town. Just over a tenth of its homes were built before 1919, above both Co. Carlow’s towns (3.5%) and Irish towns (3.4%). Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 3 buildings in Kernanstown, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded one site here.
| Heritage | Kernanstown | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 112 | 37 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 11.3% | 3.5% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 1 | 19 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 3 buildings in Kernanstown, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded one site here.
No notable person born in Kernanstown is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Pat Walker: Jarvin, CC BY 3.0 · Charles K. Gerrard: Selznick Pictures Corporation / Select Pictures Corporation, Public domain · Jennie Wyse Power: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kernanstown | 269 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Carlow | 27,351 | 3.2 | C− | B | C+ | D |
| Castledermot Kildare | 1,685 | 9.4 | — | A− | B | C+ |
| Tullow | 5,138 | 9.7 | C− | B | C+ | D |
| Rathvilly | 1,074 | 13 | — | B− | A+ | B |
| Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) | 2,945 | 15 | B+ | B+ | A− | C |
| Baltinglass Wicklow | 2,611 | 17 | C+ | B | A− | C |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
The median age in Kernanstown is 51.1, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Kernanstown had 269 people at the 2022 census, up from 252 in 2016: 6.7% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Carlow
Kernanstown has 269 people, 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).