Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Co. Cork, home to 2,929 people.
Mostly strong, with a single weak spot. Prices are modest for what you get: a typical home sold for €275,000, or 7.3 years of the town’s median household income. With an A− overall, Bantry is better than 80% of Irish towns. It ranks #65 of 320 Irish towns. Add walkability to its strengths — just over a fifth of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train, against 23% in the typical Irish town. Health lags: for every 100 its ages would predict, 125 residents are in bad health and 114 have a disability. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for safety and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · commuting, health and work, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025.
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 Bantry does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Bantry 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 →
12 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bantry.
Home ownership stands at 48% of households. Social housing holds 18% of households, above both Co. Cork’s towns (14%) and Irish towns (13%). Prices in Bantry have trailed Irish towns since 2010: the typical sale is up 60%, to €300K in 2025, against 77%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €285,000 | 47 |
| Second-hand homes | €275,000 | 225 |
| The last 12 months | €290,000 | 86 |
| Housing | Bantry | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 48% | 60% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 31% | 21% | 22% |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,072 | €1,291 | €1,606 |
| Median sale price | €275K | €360K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
27% of residents have a disability, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (24%) and Irish towns (22%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 2.8% of the town. Family carers: 6% of the people in Bantry look after someone without pay.
| Census 2022 | Bantry | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 88% | 88% |
| With a disability | 27% | 24% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.8% | 2% | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 6% | 5.9% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Families in Bantry have 4 schools within 3 km to choose from: 3 primary schools and 1 secondary school. Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí is the nearest secondary school, 0.9 km away. Since 2019/20, pupils changed +2%, between Co. Cork’s towns (+1%) and Irish towns (+4%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire agus Bharra Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 330 | Catholic |
| Coláiste Pobail BheanntraíLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 752 | Inter-denominational |
| Gaelscoil Bheanntrai GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 119 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Bantry | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 25% | 9% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 44% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 40% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +2% | +1% | +4% |
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.
Among the graded crimes in Bantry, the most frequent was assaults and harassment (2023–2025). Homes saw 3.9 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Co. Cork’s towns (4.9) and Irish towns (6.4). On top of that, the overall crime rate is 32.8 per 1,000 residents a year.
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 | Bantry | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 3.9 | 4.9 | 6.4 |
| Theft | 4.5 | 10.3 | 15.3 |
| All recorded crime | 32.8 | 44.2 | 54.3 |
| Violent crime | 4.8 | 6 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Under 1% of homes in Bantry are estimated to have radon above the reference level. Only a handful of its homes, if any, sit low beside water.
| Share of homes | Bantry | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 2.9% | 0.4% | 0% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
A year brings 1,591 mm of rain, above Co. Cork’s towns (1,114 mm) and Irish towns (937 mm) alike. Over twelve months, Bantry averages 11.1°C. This Co. Cork town sees July afternoons of 19.7°C on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Bantry | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rain a year | 1,591 mm | 1,114 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 4.1°C | 3.5°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 11.1°C | 10.8°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 19.7°C | 20.0°C | 19.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Within 5 km, 18% is sea, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%). There are 2.0 ha of green space for every 1,000 people in Bantry. 14 waymarked trails and greenways begin within 5 km.
| Outdoors | Bantry | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 41% | 91% | 92% |
| Sea within 5 km | 18% | 0% | 0% |
| Paths per km² of town | 1.0 km per km² | 1.8 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Woodland within 1 km | 4.4% | 4% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Among adults, 26% have a degree. Young adults of 15 to 24 are one in ten residents, lower than both Co. Cork’s towns (12%) and Irish towns (12%). The share of residents under 15 is 18%.
51.9% of Bantry’s residents are women
1,521 women and 1,408 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Bantry | Co. Cork | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 19% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 22% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 12% | 7.9% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 39% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.7% | 6% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 26% | 38% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Cork and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
At the general election 64% voted, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (58%) and Irish towns (59%). Cork County Council is the one council for Bantry; Ireland has no town or county councils between it and the government. There is no majority on Cork County Council; Fianna Fáil have the most seats, 19 of 55, short of 28.
| Turnout | Bantry | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 58% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 64% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up just over a tenth of the total, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (7.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%). The Sites and Monuments Record lists 12 sites here, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (9) and Irish towns (11). Bantry’s built heritage counts 79 inventory entries; 1 carry national or international standing.
| Heritage | Bantry | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 270 | 100 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 11.5% | 7.7% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Commutes averaged 20.8 min, lower than both Co. Cork’s towns (24.8 min) and Irish towns (27.6 min). Unemployment runs at 10%. Working from home was the norm for 6.3% of workers at the census.
| Census 2022 | Bantry | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 60% | 33% | 31% |
| Average trip | 20.8 min | 24.8 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €37,667 | €54,720 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 10% | 7.9% | 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.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Bantry. Best known first.
Bantry’s built heritage counts 79 inventory entries; 1 carry national or international standing. The national record lists 12 archaeological sites in and around the town.
19 notable people were born in Bantry.
Timothy Michael Healy: Lafayette, Dublin, Public domain · Timothy Daniel Sullivan: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Denis O'Donovan: 内閣官房内閣広報室, CC BY 4.0 · Graham Canty: Pytheas84, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Timothy Harrington: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Maurice Healy: File:All-for-Ireland League MPs, 1910.jpg : Original: Photogrphher Unknown, but artwork assumed to be by Cork Free Press . Original uploader was Osioni derivative work: Pbrks, Public domain
The median age in Bantry is 43.5, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Bantry had 2,929 people at the 2022 census, up from 2,813 in 2016: 4.1% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Cork
Bantry has 2,929 people, in the area of Cork 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).