Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 1,074 residents in Co. Carlow.
Rathvilly is a safe place by the numbers (A+): burglary and criminal damage run at 2.7 per 1,000 residents a year, violent crime at 1.2. Where it falls short is walkability. 5% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the typical Irish town: 23%). Buying the median home, at €288,000, takes 5.5 times the town’s median household income.
Figures: crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · commuting, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO. Rathvilly is graded subject by subject, but Irish towns need 2,500 residents for an overall grade.
Rents for this town aren't published on their own, so its Cost Grade uses the county's average rent. Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level. This town's Hazard risk Grade uses radon and landslides only: open LiDAR heights don't cover enough of its homes to measure flooding, so flood isn't counted for or against it.
The 3 things Rathvilly does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Rathvilly with Irish towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Irish towns →
3 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
7% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Rathvilly.
In 2023–2025, burglary led the graded crimes in Rathvilly. Every kind together came to 12.3 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Co. Carlow’s towns (30.9) and Irish towns (54.3).
Not in the gradeTheft, public order and offences found by Garda checks (drugs, road traffic, dangerous acts) are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence, burglary and damage.
| Per 1,000 a year | Rathvilly | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 2.7 | 6 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 1.2 | 4.7 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 12.3 | 30.9 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 1.3 | 7.1 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
100% of its homes sit in high-radon areas, near Co. Carlow’s towns (100%) and higher than Irish towns (0%). Landslides: none of Rathvilly lies in a high-susceptibility zone. Next to none of its homes lie low beside a river or the sea.
| Share of homes | Rathvilly | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 100% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | under 0.1% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
84% of commuters drove, higher than both Co. Carlow’s towns (73%) and Irish towns (66%). Home was the main workplace for 9.5% of workers at the census. Also worth knowing: on average, the journey to work lasts 34 min.
| Census 2022 | Rathvilly | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 34 min | 25.1 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 66% | 62% | 68% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 31% | 43% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 9.3% | 12% | 9.2% |
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.
Midsummer afternoons in Rathvilly peak at about 19.9°C. The year’s mean temperature is 9.8°C, below both Co. Carlow’s towns (10.1°C) and Irish towns (10.3°C). October is the wettest month here, with 104 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Rathvilly | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 1.9°C | 2.3°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.8°C | 10.1°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 19.9°C | 20.3°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 953 mm | 892 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Within 1 km, 1.2% of the land is woodland, below both Co. Carlow’s towns (1.3%) and Irish towns (2.7%). Among the protected sites near Rathvilly is Slaney River Valley SAC.
| Outdoors | Rathvilly | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 58% | 72% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.0 km per km² | 0.5 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Woodland within 1 km | 1.2% | 1.3% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
For Rathvilly, a normal November afternoon peaks at 11°C, and a normal night bottoms out at 4°C. A dry day with a stiff breeze lies ahead today: wind building to 26 km/h, then a low of 8°C. December follows with normal highs of 8°C and lows of 2°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 257 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 195 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 215 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 6°C | 286 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Children under 15 make up 23% of residents. 17% of adults hold a degree, lower than both Co. Carlow’s towns (19%) and Irish towns (36%). People 65 and over make up 13% of the town.
52.2% of Rathvilly’s residents are women
561 women and 513 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Rathvilly | Co. Carlow | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 23% | 20% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 13% | 12% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 16% | 12% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 19% | 19% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7.6% | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 17% | 19% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Carlow and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
No party holds a majority on Carlow County Council: Fine Gael lead with 6 of 18 seats, short of the 10 needed. Carlow County Council is the council for Rathvilly, and the only one: Ireland has a single tier of local government. In the Dáil, Rathvilly is part of Carlow-Kilkenny, which elects 5 TDs.
| Turnout | Rathvilly | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 49% | 49% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 6.7% of the total, above Co. Carlow’s towns (3.5%) and Irish towns (3.4%) alike. Beneath and around the town lie 3 recorded archaeological sites. Scaled to its population, that is 37 inventory buildings for every 10,000 people in Rathvilly.
| Heritage | Rathvilly | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1919 | 6.7% | 3.5% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 3 | 19 | 11 |
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 37 | 37 | 48 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
1.6% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, below both Co. Carlow’s towns (2.5%) and Irish towns (2%). Ages taken into account, Rathvilly counts 111 people with a disability for every 100 predicted. Family carers: 4.3% of the people in Rathvilly look after someone without pay.
| Census 2022 | Rathvilly | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 4.3% | 5.3% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.6% | 2.5% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 85% | 88% |
| With a disability | 23% | 24% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
64% of households own their home, higher than Co. Carlow’s towns (54%) and near Irish towns (61%). Social renters account for 20% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €275,000 | 47 |
| Housing | Rathvilly | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 14% | 22% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 20% | 24% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 64% | 54% | 61% |
| Median sale price | €288K | €250K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
50% of the schools are in the DEIS scheme, near Co. Carlow’s towns (50%) and higher than Irish towns (35%). 2 schools lie within 3 km of Rathvilly: 2 primary schools.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Patricks N.S. DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 207 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Rathvilly | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 0% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 50% | 50% | 35% |
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.
Nothing to visit is mapped within 5 km of Rathvilly; these are the best known within 40 km.
CastleBallyloughan Castle7.1 km southwest
Abbey or prioryGlendalough29 km northeast
National parkWicklow Mountains National Park25 km northeast
CastleCarlow Castle17 km west
CastleHumewood Castle6.6 km northeast
CathedralCathedral of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary16 km westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
4 of Rathvilly’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 3 archaeological sites in and around the town.
One notable person was born in Rathvilly; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Pat Walker: Jarvin, CC BY 3.0 · Charles K. Gerrard: Selznick Pictures Corporation / Select Pictures Corporation, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathvilly | 1,074 | — | — | B− | A+ | B |
| Baltinglass Wicklow | 2,611 | 6.2 | C+ | B | A− | C |
| Tullow | 5,138 | 9 | C− | B | C+ | D |
| Castledermot Kildare | 1,685 | 10 | — | A− | B | C+ |
| Carlow | 27,351 | 16 | C− | B | C+ | D |
| Tinahely Wicklow | 1,037 | 19 | — | B− | B− | C+ |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
10% mostly work from home, and 31% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Rathvilly had 1,074 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,001 in 2016: 7.3% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Rathvilly is 37.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Carlow
Rathvilly has 1,074 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) · TownRatings grades, run #544 (Irish towns only). 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).