Photo: Sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.0Few flats: only 0.8% of households in Rathvilly live in one
The figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 1.6% in Rathvilly and 4.7% across Ireland’s towns. Its 380 households held 1,074 residents at the 2022 Census. Here, four in five residents said they are Catholic. Just over a fifth of households are one person living alone, a lower share than in 67% of Irish towns.
From 2016 to 2022, 51% of Irish towns grew faster than Rathvilly: +7%
Residents at the 2016 and 2022 censuses, on 2022 boundaries, and the change beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Change, 2016 to 2022
CSO publishes yearly population estimates for counties and regions, not towns, so the trend is two censuses rather than a line; 2016 ages aren’t on 2022 boundaries, so there is no change by age.
Across Ireland’s towns the median change is +8%; across Co. Carlow’s towns, +9%.
Rathvilly sits below 56% of Irish towns for residents aged 65 and over (13%)
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 5–9 than any other five-year age: 8% of residents. Measured more widely, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns. Few places have so few residents aged 15 to 24: 12% here, fewer than in 60% of Irish towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Carlow 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%.
A lower share of students among residents 15 and over than 82% of Irish towns, at 8.7%
CSO’s social classes (everyone, by their own or their family’s occupation), the occupations of those at work, and where residents lived a year before the Census.
Residents by social class · all residents
Where residents lived a year earlier
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Workers by occupation · residents at work
By occupation, skilled trades are over-represented: 18%, against a typical 11%. Lower than in 77% of Irish towns: 5.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. The usual figure: 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
Larger households than 73% of Irish towns: 2.9 people on average
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Carlow’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
The figure for households of parents with children is 46% in Rathvilly and 43% across Ireland’s towns.
Rathvilly sits below 82% of Irish towns for households without a car or van (8.5%)
Home types, cars and the internet, by household. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Internet at home · share of households
The figure for holiday homes is 1.2% in Rathvilly and 0.2% across Ireland’s towns. Every 12th household or so has no car or van.
Half of households earn more than €52,520 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Before tax, the middle household here has €52,520 a year, 13% less than the Ireland median (€60,120). Across Co. Carlow the median is €53,120.
A smaller share of residents born outside Ireland than 95% of Irish towns: 12%
Place of birth and citizenship as CSO asks them: born abroad includes Irish citizens born abroad.
Born abroad, by birthplace · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
Citizens of another country, by citizenship; CSO counts dual Irish citizens as Irish.
Other languages · share of all residents
CSO’s small-area tables don’t give the year people arrived.
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the UK (3.5%) and outside the EU and UK (3.1%). The wider picture: just over a fifth of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns. Fewer residents with another country’s citizenship than in 90% of Irish towns: 7.5%.
A lower share of daily speakers of Irish outside education than 96% of Irish towns, at 0.5%
Residents aged 3 and over who can speak Irish, and how often they speak it outside education (CSO).
Irish speakers · residents aged 3 and over
Top of Co. Carlow: Carlow, at 1.2%. As a reference point, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
Rathvilly ranks above 96% of Irish towns on residents who describe themselves as White Irish: 89%
Ethnic or cultural background and religion, in CSO’s categories, as people described themselves.
Ethnic groups other than White Irish · all residents
White Irish, not charted: 89% of Rathvilly · Co. Carlow’s towns 79% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Just over one in ten residents said they have no religion (Ireland’s towns: 17%). For residents who describe themselves as White Irish, the comparison across Ireland’s towns is 78%. Next after White Irish come Other White (8.6%), Other, including mixed (1.1%) and Asian or Asian Irish (0.9%).
Rathvilly sits below 86% of Irish towns for unpaid carers (4.3%)
Marital status of residents 15 and over, and unpaid carers.
Partnership status · residents 15 and over
The small-area tables count carers, not their hours of care.
Just over a third of residents 15 and over are married. On average, 5.4% of residents give unpaid care across Ireland’s towns.
A lower share of adults with a degree or higher than 94% of Irish towns, at 17%
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
A postgraduate qualification is the highest level for 3.8% of adults; primary level or less for 16% (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). By way of comparison, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Rathvilly is younger than 2 of its 5 nearest neighbours
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathvilly | 1,074 | — | 37.6 | 13% | 46% |
| Baltinglass | 2,611 | 6.2 km | 38.2 | 14% | 45% |
| Tullow | 5,138 | 9.0 km | 36.2 | 12% | 46% |
| Castledermot | 1,685 | 10.1 km | 36.7 | 13% | 49% |
| Carlow | 27,351 | 15.8 km | 36.3 | 12% | 43% |
| Tinahely | 1,037 | 18.7 km | 40.3 | 17% | 45% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Carlow’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Co. Carlow has fewer than five towns of 2,500 or more, so its figure is the median of its towns of 1,000 or more; the national figure is the median of the Irish towns of 2,500 or more (city totals left out). Percentiles are within Ireland only.
- The earlier population is an estimate. Towns had no official 2016 count on today’s boundaries, so the 2016 figure is CSO’s electoral-division count shared out by where people lived in 2022: read a small town in a large rural division loosely.
- What these tables don’t give. The small-area tables give no year of arrival and no hours of care, and a town’s electoral divisions run past its edge, so the page doesn’t split a town into named areas (a city lists its neighbourhoods).
- The census’s own words. Born abroad, citizenship, ethnic or cultural background and religion are CSO’s questions and categories; the page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
Questions about Rathvilly’s residents
What is the population of Rathvilly?
Rathvilly had 1,074 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 7% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Rathvilly?
The median age is 37.6. 27% are under 18 and 13% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Rathvilly?
33% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (330 people), and 0.5% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Rathvilly?
89% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 12% were born abroad and 7.5% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Rathvilly?
80% are Catholic, 12% have no religion and 7.5% another religion; 2.3% didn’t say.
Is Rathvilly good for families?
46% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 27% of residents are under 18. Schools near Rathvilly are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Rathvilly?
Median gross household income in Rathvilly was €52,520 in 2022, against €53,120 across Co. Carlow and €60,120 for Ireland.
Sources: CSO, Census of Population 2022, Small Area Population Statistics · CSO PxStat FP009 (2016 by electoral division) · CSO GPIIA, household income 2022. 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).