Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a neighbourhood of 3,124 residents in Cork. Its population rose 9% from 2016 to 2022.
With a C overall, Blackpool is better than 30% of Irish towns. The ranking puts it #225 of 320 Irish towns. Police record more crime here than in most towns (D): violent crime runs at 13.7 per 1,000 residents a year, burglary and criminal damage at 9.7. Homes are affordable (A): the median home sold for €189,500, 4.5 times the town’s median household income. Walkability is another plus. 47% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the typical Irish town: 23%). Health lags: bad health runs at 166 and disability at 118 per 100 expected for its ages.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · commuting and health, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025.
Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level.
The 3 things Blackpool does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Blackpool 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 →
The register holds 69 buildings on the National Inventory in Blackpool.
2 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Blackpool. Best known first.
CathedralSt. Fin Barre's Cathedral1.1 km outside town, to the southwest
CathedralCathedral of St. Mary & St. Anne200 m outside town, to the southwest
CastleMTU Blackrock Castle Observatory4.1 km outside town, to the east
MuseumCork Butter Museum300 m outside town, to the southwest
Abbey or prioryRed Abbey900 m outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Blackpool.
Among the graded crimes in Blackpool, the most frequent was assaults and harassment (2023–2025). The overall crime rate is 77.7 per 1,000 residents a year. Thefts came to 19.3 per 1,000 a year (not part of the grade), above Co. Cork’s towns (10.2) and Irish towns (15.3) alike.
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 | Blackpool | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 13.7 | 5.5 | 5.7 |
| Burglary & damage | 9.7 | 4.8 | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 77.7 | 43.4 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 19.3 | 10.2 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
The private rented sector houses 42% of households. Social housing holds 33% of households, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (14%) and Irish towns (13%). Blackpool is the cheapest of the 54 towns in Co. Cork: its median sale is €189,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €189,500 | 105 |
| Housing | Blackpool | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 25% | 60% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 33% | 14% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 42% | 21% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €190K | €360K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
About 4% of homes in Blackpool are estimated to pass the radon reference level. Low-lying near the coast: under 0.1% of homes, in line with Co. Cork’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%). Hardly any of its homes sit low beside water.
| Share of homes | Blackpool | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 4.3% | 0.4% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 2.6% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
At the census, 2.8% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (2%) and Irish towns (2%). 84% of people in Blackpool rate their own health good or very good. Unpaid caring falls to 4.2% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Blackpool | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 4.2% | 5.9% | 5.4% |
| Good or very good health | 84% | 88% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.8% | 2% | 2% |
| With a disability | 25% | 24% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
St Vincent's Secondary School is the nearest secondary school, 0.6 km away. Within 3 km of Blackpool there are 65 schools (36 primary schools, 21 secondary schools and 8 special schools). Single-sex secondaries: 43%, about level with Co. Cork’s towns (44%) and above Irish towns (39%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Naomh Antaine BoysLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 581 | Catholic |
| Christian Brothers College BoysLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 919 | Catholic |
| Gaelcholáiste Mhuire GaelcholáisteTeaches through IrishPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 690 | Catholic |
| Coláiste Éamann Rís DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 811 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Blackpool | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 52% | 35% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −0% | +2% | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 8% | 9% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Without school-level results from Ireland, the cards show no letters.
Household income came to €41,940 a year before tax, lower than both Co. Cork’s towns (€54,720) and Irish towns (€57,760). 15% of workers did their job mainly from home at the census. Of those in the labour force, 12% are unemployed.
| Census 2022 | Blackpool | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 12% | 7.9% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €41,940 | €54,720 | €57,760 |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 22% | 33% | 31% |
| Average trip | 26.9 min | 24.7 min | 27.6 min |
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.
Over twelve months, Blackpool averages 10.5°C. July afternoons reach 19.8°C here, in line with Co. Cork’s towns (20.0°C) and Irish towns (19.9°C). On a January night, the temperature in Blackpool falls to about 3.1°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Blackpool | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average temperature over the year | 10.5°C | 10.8°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 3.1°C | 3.5°C | 2.9°C |
| July high | 19.8°C | 20.0°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,114 mm | 1,114 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Blackpool offers 14.5 ha of green space per 1,000 residents. A short walk to green space: 100% of homes, above Co. Cork’s towns (88%) and Irish towns (92%) alike. 6 parks and 45 ha of green space in all: that is the town’s share.
| Outdoors | Blackpool | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paths per km² of town | 6.6 km per km² | 1.7 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Near a park | 100% | 88% | 92% |
| Green space per 1,000 residents | 14.5 ha | 4.2 ha | 4.1 ha |
| Woodland within 1 km | 3% | 4.2% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Around 1 mm of rain is due today, on a breeze of up to 26 km/h, with a low of 6°C. Tuesday looks like the wettest of the days that follow, with about 15 mm of rain. The forecast for Blackpool beside its normal weather: a typical November day reaches 11°C and drops to 5°C at night.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 330 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 232 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 235 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 317 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Children under 15 count for 12% of the people here. Daily Irish speakers outside school: 0.7%, below Co. Cork’s towns (1.1%) and Irish towns (1.1%) alike. Just over one in ten residents are 65 or over.
47.8% of Blackpool’s residents are women
1,493 women and 1,631 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Blackpool | Co. Cork | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 19% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 44% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 21% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 12% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 13% | 7.9% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 14% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 31% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.7% | 6% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 36% | 38% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Cork and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
There is no majority on Cork City Council; Fianna Fáil have the most seats, 9 of 31, short of 16. Blackpool answers to one council, Cork City Council; Ireland has no town tier. Turnout at the last local elections was 43%, below both Co. Cork’s towns (45%) and Irish towns (46%).
| Turnout | Blackpool | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 43% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 22.5% of the total, above both Co. Cork’s towns (7.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%). There are 2 entries on the national archaeological record here. Blackpool’s built heritage counts 69 inventory entries, each of regional standing.
| Heritage | Blackpool | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 221 | 100 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 22.5% | 7.7% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 2 | 12 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Blackpool’s built heritage counts 69 inventory entries, each of regional standing. 2 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
32 notable people were born in Blackpool.
Patrick Horgan: Seaninryan, CC BY-SA 4.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackpool | 3,124 | — | C | A | D | D |
| Farranree | 3,824 | 0.7 | D | B | D | D− |
| Shandon | 3,539 | 0.7 | C− | C+ | D | C− |
| St Luke's | 4,278 | 0.9 | C+ | B− | D | B− |
| The Glen | 6,119 | 1.1 | D | C+ | D | D |
| Cork City Centre | 3,701 | 1.2 | D− | C− | D− | D |
| Gurranebraher | 4,502 | 1.2 | D | C+ | C | D |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Blackpool had 3,124 people at the 2022 census, up from 2,875 in 2016: 8.7% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Blackpool is 36.1, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Neighbourhood in Cork
3,124 people live in Blackpool, in the area of Cork City Council. TownRatings splits Cork into neighbourhoods made from the CSO’s Electoral Divisions, named from Tailte Éireann’s gazetteer, so each has figures of its own.
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).