Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 361 people live in this town, in Co. Clare.
A typical home sold for €372,600, or 8.2 years of the town’s median household income. It grew by 58% between the 2016 and 2022 censuses. Residents born outside Ireland: 63%. 47% of households have paid off their home.
There are no grades for Ballyvaughan: Irish towns need 1,000 residents for them.
The 3 things Ballyvaughan does most differently from other towns.
The record adds 1 archaeological site.
Homes built before 1919: 10%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ballyvaughan.
Bishopsquarter, 2.6 km from Ballyvaughan, is the closest bathing water; it was rated excellent in 2025. Radon: 100% of homes are in high-radon areas, higher than both Co. Clare’s towns (73%) and Irish towns (0%). No part of Ballyvaughan is mapped as high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Ballyvaughan | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 73% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The mean temperature over a year in Ballyvaughan is 10.8°C. July afternoons reach 19.4°C here, below Co. Clare’s towns (19.7°C) and Irish towns (19.9°C) alike. Winter lows in Ballyvaughan average 3.5°C in January.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ballyvaughan | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rain a year | 1,528 mm | 1,199 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 19.4°C | 19.7°C | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.8°C | 10.5°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 3.5°C | 3.0°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
At the census, 17% of people here had a disability, below Co. Clare’s towns (23%) and Irish towns (22%) alike. Ages taken into account, Ballyvaughan counts 90 people with a disability for every 100 predicted. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.2% of the town.
| Census 2022 | Ballyvaughan | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a disability | 17% | 23% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.2% | 2.5% | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 4.7% | 5.4% | 5.4% |
| Good or very good health | 86% | 87% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Owners make up 56% of households, lower than both Co. Clare’s towns (64%) and Irish towns (61%). The private rented sector houses 25% of households.
| Housing | Ballyvaughan | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 18% | 13% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €373K | €280K | €350K |
| Households owning their home | 56% | 64% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 25% | 21% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area H91, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Woodland covers 1.2% of the land within 1 km, below Co. Clare’s towns (3.9%) and Irish towns (2.7%) alike. Protected nature near Ballyvaughan includes Galway Bay Complex SAC. 100% of homes are within 400 m of green space.
| Outdoors | Ballyvaughan | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 65% | 9.6% | 1.8% |
| Sea within 5 km | 27% | 0% | 0% |
| Near a park | 100% | 69% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 1.2% | 3.9% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
In work: 71% of residents aged 15 to 64, higher than both Co. Clare’s towns (68%) and Irish towns (68%). Unemployment runs at 7.5%. At the census, 55% of commuters went by car.
| Census 2022 | Ballyvaughan | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 33.6 min | 23.1 min | 27.6 min |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 46% | 44% | 31% |
| Median household income | €45,330 | €53,417 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.5% | 9.1% | 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.
Overseas births account for 63% of the people living here. 52% are under 15, higher than both Co. Clare’s towns (20%) and Irish towns (20%). Degrees are held by 45% of adults.
Women make up 67.6% of Ballyvaughan
244 women and 117 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ballyvaughan | Co. Clare | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 52% | 20% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 5.8% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 12% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 16% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 15% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 8.5% | 9.5% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 13% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 29% | 40% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.2% | 6.8% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 45% | 28% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Clare and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
At the general election, 64% of voters took part. Clare County Council has no ruling majority: Fianna Fáil hold 14 of its 28 seats, short of the 15 needed. In the Dáil, Ballyvaughan is part of Clare, which elects 4 TDs.
| Turnout | Ballyvaughan | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 61% | 50% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 64% | 64% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up a tenth of the total, higher than both Co. Clare’s towns (1.8%) and Irish towns (3.4%). The archaeological record lists 1 sites here. Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 3 buildings in Ballyvaughan, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded one site here.
| Heritage | Ballyvaughan | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 83 | 25 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 9.7% | 1.8% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 1 | 10 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Ballyvaughan. Best known first.
AttractionAillwee Cave2.4 km outside town, to the south
CastleGleninagh Castle3.8 km outside town, to the northwestCastleCastleNewtown Castle1.3 km outside town, to the southwestCastleCastleShanmuckinish Castle3.7 km outside town, to the northeastNatural landscapeNatural landscapeBishop’s Quarter Beach1.7 km outside town, to the northeastNatural landscapeNatural landscapeBallyvaughan Pier100 m outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 3 buildings in Ballyvaughan, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded one site here.
One notable person was born in Ballyvaughan; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Séamus Brennan: Flickr user "Justsplit.com", CC BY 2.0 · Thomas Grady: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballyvaughan | 361 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bearna Galway | 2,336 | 15 | — | D | A | A+ |
| Salthill Galway | 5,445 | 17 | A | D | A | A |
| Knocknacarra Galway | 18,398 | 17 | B+ | D | A | A− |
| Claddagh Galway | 2,755 | 18 | C | D | C− | B |
| Taylor's Hill Galway | 3,141 | 18 | C− | D | B | C |
| Newcastle Galway | 4,032 | 19 | D | D | C− | C+ |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Ballyvaughan had 361 people at the 2022 census, up from 229 in 2016: 57.6% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Ballyvaughan is 14.1, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 52% of residents are under 15 and 15% are 65 or over.
Urban area in Co. Clare
361 people live in Ballyvaughan, in the area of Clare 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).