Photo: P L Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0Whitegate is older than 99% of Irish towns: a median age of 47.9
1.3% of households live in a flat or apartment; across Ireland’s towns the figure is 12%. There were 79 households in Whitegate at the 2022 Census, home to 181 residents. The share of households of parents with children stands at 34%. Residents who said they are Catholic are more common here than in 87% of Irish towns.
A +8% change since 2016: faster than 51% of Irish towns
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.
28% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
7.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across Ireland’s towns. For comparison, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Clare 51.5%, Ireland 51.2%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Whitegate, 4.7% of residents 15 and over are students, fewer than in 99% of Irish towns
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
Compared with a typical 11%, skilled trades account for 33% of workers. By way of comparison, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns. 5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Whitegate sits above 97% of Irish towns for one-person households (35%)
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Clare’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in 99% of Irish towns. Across Ireland’s towns, nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone. On average, 2.3 people share a household.
A higher share of holiday homes than 95% of Irish towns, at 4.5%
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
Broadband reaches 78% of households; 18% have no internet at all (typical: 7.6%). 14% of households have no car or van. By way of comparison, 0.2% of homes are holiday homes across Ireland’s towns.
€40,990 a year: where the middle household sits
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Gross household income has a median of €40,990 a year here, 32% below Ireland (€60,120). Countywide, Co. Clare has a median of €54,650.
Only 12% of Whitegate’s residents were born outside Ireland
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.
The figure for residents with another country’s citizenship is 3.9% in Whitegate and 15% across Ireland’s towns. The share of residents born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns is 22%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the UK (9.4%) and outside the EU and UK (2.2%).
Able to speak Irish: 32% in Whitegate
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
Speakers of Irish: 55 residents, 32% of those aged 3 and over. Daily speakers of Irish outside education are rarer here than in 99% of Irish towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White Irish: 97%, a higher share than 99% of Irish towns
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: 97% of Whitegate · Co. Clare’s towns 82% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Where 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns, Whitegate has 14%. Residents who describe themselves as White Irish make up 78% across Ireland’s towns.
More unpaid carers than 92% of Irish towns: 6.6% of residents
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.
Few places have so few married residents 15 and over: 34% here, fewer than in 57% of Irish towns. For comparison, 5.4% of residents give unpaid care across Ireland’s towns.
Whitegate sits below 86% of Irish towns for adults with a degree or higher (22%)
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 9.3% of adults; primary level or less for 18% (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). As a reference point, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Every nearby town is younger than Whitegate
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitegate | 181 | — | 47.9 | 28% | 34% |
| Nenagh | 9,895 | 14.8 km | 38.4 | 14% | 41% |
| Ballina | 2,959 | 15.8 km | 39.6 | 11% | 54% |
| Killaloe | 1,666 | 16.6 km | 41 | 19% | 37% |
| Borrisokane | 1,117 | 17.3 km | 38.5 | 18% | 42% |
| Portumna | 1,690 | 18.9 km | 41.3 | 21% | 38% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Clare’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Clare’s towns of 2,500 or more and over 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 Whitegate’s residents
What is the population of Whitegate?
Whitegate had 181 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 8% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Whitegate?
The median age is 47.9. 19% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Whitegate?
32% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (55 people), and 0% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Whitegate?
97% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 12% were born abroad and 3.9% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Whitegate?
79% are Catholic, 14% have no religion and 6.8% another religion; 2.2% didn’t say.
Is Whitegate good for families?
34% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 19% of residents are under 18. Schools near Whitegate are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Whitegate?
Median gross household income in Whitegate was €40,990 in 2022, against €54,650 across Co. Clare 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).