Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
18,239 people live in this town in Co. Cork. The population grew 12% between 2016 and 2022.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. Its best grade is for jobs & income (A): 70% of working-age residents are employed, with an unemployment rate of 6%. Overall, Carrigaline earns an A+: better than 95% of Irish towns, and #17 of 320 Irish towns. It is a safe place by the numbers (A): per 1,000 residents a year, gardaí record 2.7 violent crimes and 3 burglaries and acts of criminal damage. The median home sold for €375,100, 4.8 times the town’s median household income. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: 8% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train, against 23% in the typical Irish town.
Figures: work and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO.
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 Carrigaline does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Carrigaline 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 →
40 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
1% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Carrigaline.
5.5% of the labour force were unemployed, below Co. Cork’s towns (8%) and Irish towns (9.2%) alike. At the census, 79% of commuters went by car. The census found 70% of 15- to 64-year-olds in work.
| Census 2022 | Carrigaline | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €78,106 | €51,591 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.5% | 8% | 9.2% |
| Average trip | 25.7 min | 24.7 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 70% | 69% | 68% |
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.
Damage to property topped the graded crimes in Carrigaline (2023–2025). Homes saw 3 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). In addition, all told, 21.7 crimes per 1,000 residents are recorded each 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 | Carrigaline | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 3 | 4.9 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 2.7 | 6 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 21.7 | 44.2 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 5.6 | 10.3 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Carrigaline Community School is the nearest secondary school, 0.5 km away. DEIS, the support scheme, covers 8% of them, below Co. Cork’s towns (40%) and Irish towns (35%) alike. Within 3 km of Carrigaline there are 12 schools (7 primary schools, 3 secondary schools and 2 special schools).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Well National School (Scoil Tobair Naofa) Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 803 | Catholic |
| Carrigaline Community SchoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 1,072 | Inter-denominational |
| Gaelscoil Charraig Ui Leighin GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 591 | Catholic |
| Ringaskiddy Lower Harbour N.S. DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 58 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Carrigaline | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 44% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 8% | 40% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 17% | 9% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +9% | +1% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No letters, no results: Irish schools aren’t ranked one by one.
1.1% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, below Co. Cork’s towns (2%) and Irish towns (2%) alike. Weighed against its ages, disability in Carrigaline runs at 99 per 100 expected. Self-reported good health: 93% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Carrigaline | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 93% | 88% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.1% | 2% | 2% |
| With a disability | 19% | 24% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.5% | 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
13% rent privately, below both Co. Cork’s towns (21%) and Irish towns (22%). Social renters account for 8% of households. A buyer in Carrigaline paid 91% more for a typical home in 2025 than in 2010: €420K against €220K.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €390,500 | 162 |
| Second-hand homes | €365,000 | 378 |
| The last 12 months | €428,500 | 150 |
| Housing | Carrigaline | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 78% | 59% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 13% | 21% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 8% | 14% | 13% |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,592 | €1,255 | €1,606 |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Carrigaline gets 1,170 mm of rain a year. The year’s mean temperature is 10.9°C, close to Co. Cork’s towns (10.8°C) and above Irish towns (10.3°C). July afternoons in Carrigaline average 19.8°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Carrigaline | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 3.8°C | 3.5°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.9°C | 10.8°C | 10.3°C |
| Rain a year | 1,170 mm | 1,114 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 19.8°C | 20.0°C | 19.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
73% of homes are within 400 m of green space, below Co. Cork’s towns (91%) and Irish towns (92%) alike. Among the protected sites near Carrigaline is Cork Harbour SPA. The town has one park, with 15 ha of green space in all.
| Outdoors | Carrigaline | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 73% | 91% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 6.5% | 4% | 2.7% |
| Sea within 5 km | 6.7% | 0% | 0% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.9 km per km² | 1.8 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Rain of about 2 mm rides in on the wind today (42 km/h); the low is 8°C. The heaviest rain of the week is due on Tuesday, around 23 mm. Set beside Carrigaline’s forecast, a normal November runs from 6°C at night to 12°C by day.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 10°C | 4°C | 347 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 241 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 12°C | 249 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 8°C | 333 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Among adults, 42% have a degree. 13% of residents are 15 to 24, above Co. Cork’s towns (12%) and Irish towns (12%) alike. Foreign-born residents make up 19% of the population.
51.2% of Carrigaline’s residents are women
9,339 women and 8,900 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Carrigaline | Co. Cork | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 24% | 19% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 9.6% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 4.5% | 8.3% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 36% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7% | 5.9% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 42% | 38% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Cork and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
With 19 of 55 seats, Fianna Fáil are the largest group on Cork County Council, short of the 28 a majority needs. Turnout at the last local elections was 47%, about level with Irish towns (46%) and above Co. Cork’s towns (45%). Local government for Carrigaline is Cork County Council alone; Ireland has a single tier.
| Turnout | Carrigaline | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 60% | 58% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 47% | 45% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Carrigaline has 7 inventory buildings for every 10,000 residents, below Co. Cork’s towns (106) and Irish towns (48) alike. 0.8% of homes were built before 1919. 12 of Carrigaline’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
| Heritage | Carrigaline | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 7 | 106 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 40 | 9 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 0.8% | 7.7% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
For a swim, the nearest bathing water is Fountainstown, 7.4 km from Carrigaline, rated good in 2025. On high landslide susceptibility: 0.4% of homes, near both Co. Cork’s towns (0.4%) and Irish towns (0%). Very few of its homes sit on low ground by water.
| Share of homes | Carrigaline | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0.4% | 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.
2 places to visit are mapped within 5 km of Carrigaline; with them, the best known within 40 km.
CathedralSt. Fin Barre's Cathedral11 km northwest
CathedralSaint Colman's Cathedral7.9 km northeast
CastleBlarney Castle and Gardens17 km northwest
ZooFota Wildlife Park10 km northeast · 415K visitors a year (2022)
MuseumSpike Island7.8 km eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
12 of Carrigaline’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 40 archaeological sites in and around the town.
7 notable people were born in Carrigaline.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrigaline | 18,239 | — | A+ | C | A | A− |
| Douglas | 22,029 | 6.1 | A+ | C− | A+ | A |
| Passage West-Monkstown | 6,051 | 6.6 | A | B− | A+ | B+ |
| Frankfield and Grange | 7,687 | 7 | A | C− | A | A |
| Crosshaven | 3,263 | 7.3 | A | C− | A+ | A |
| Cobh | 14,148 | 7.3 | B | B− | A− | C+ |
| Tramore | 4,803 | 8.2 | B− | C− | C | B− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Carrigaline had 18,239 people at the 2022 census, up from 16,276 in 2016: 12.1% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Carrigaline is 36.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 24% of residents are under 15 and 10% are 65 or over.
Urban area in Co. Cork
Carrigaline has 18,239 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).