#1Sixmilebridge
2,832 peopleScore 54.5·#109 of 320 Irish towns
Strongest: jobs & income A−, health B+·lowest: walkability D−
Sixmilebridge, #1 on this list · Photo: Piotrek Gumiś (CC BY-SA 3.0)Clare · 2026
Best places to live in County Clare
Shannon is second on the list, graded B. A− or better goes to none of the towns on the list. From first to last on the list, scores fall from 54.5 to 44.4. Of 5 ranked towns in County Clare, Sixmilebridge heads the list, #109 of 320 nationally.
The overall score, sorted within the county; the letter compares each town with every town in Ireland of 2,500+, and its national rank sits beside it. How grades work
#1B+
#2Shannon
10,256 peopleScore 52.7·#120 of 320 Irish towns
Strongest: jobs & income B+, cost of living B+·lowest: hazard risk C−
#3Ennis
27,923 peopleScore 47.8·#165 of 320 Irish towns
Strongest: cost of living B+, jobs & income B·lowest: hazard risk D
All 5 towns, ranked
By overall score against Irish towns; ranks are within the county, and each national rank links to the national list.
#TownScoreGrade · national rankWhat drives it
1Sixmilebridge2,832 people54.5top 33.9%B+#109 of 320 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A−, health B+·lowest: walkability D−
2Shannon10,256 people52.7top 37.3%B#120 of 320 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income B+, cost of living B+·lowest: hazard risk C−
3Ennis27,923 people47.8bottom 48.6%B−#165 of 320 nationallyStrongest: cost of living B+, jobs & income B·lowest: hazard risk D
4Westbury3,636 people46.6bottom 46.1%B−#173 of 320 nationallyStrongest: safety A, jobs & income B+·lowest: walkability C−
5Kilrush2,649 people44.4bottom 38.6%C+#197 of 320 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A+, hazard risk A−·lowest: health D
Quick answers
Questions people ask
How are these towns ranked?
By the overall grade, which blends six graded subjects (safety, cost of living, health, jobs & income, walkability and hazard risk) from public data, each comparing a town with every town in Ireland of 1,000 or more. The rank is among the towns of 2,500 or more in County Clare, where five or more have an overall grade.
Why isn’t my town on this list?
The list covers places of 2,500 or more with an overall grade. Smaller places, and towns missing figures the overall grade needs, show their grades on their own pages; every town is listed on the County Clare page.
County by county
Best places to live, county by county
Photos: Sixmilebridge, Piotrek Gumiś (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Shannon, Graham Horn (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Ennis, Joseph Mischyshyn (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking Irish towns against each other only, run #71 of 9 November 2026. 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).