Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The population grew 24% between 2016 and 2022. A neighbourhood in Cork, home to 3,701 people.
The data are hard on it. Its weakest subject is safety: 23.5 violent crimes and 12.9 burglaries and acts of criminal damage recorded per 1,000 residents a year. At D− overall, Cork City Centre is better than 4% of Irish towns and ranks #307 of 320 Irish towns. It lags on health as well: for every 100 its ages would predict, 182 residents are in bad health and 119 have a disability. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: on the way to work, 64% walk, cycle or take the bus or train, where the typical Irish town has 23%. Buying the median home, at €385,600, takes 8.4 times the town’s median household income.
Figures: commuting and health, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO.
This town's house price is the median for its whole Eircode routing key, town and countryside together: fewer than 30 sales in the town itself were recorded on the Property Price Register in 2023 to 2025, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Crime here is counted against the people who live here, but much of it involves people who come in to work, shop or go out, so the rate per resident runs higher than residents' own risk. Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level.
Each subject compares Cork City Centre 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 3 things Cork City Centre does most differently from other towns.
671 buildings on the National Inventory inside Cork City Centre, 14 of them of national importance.
The record adds 19 archaeological sites.
671 of Cork City Centre’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage; 14 rank of national or international importance. Archaeologists have recorded 19 sites here.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cork City Centre.
Theft, shown but not graded, ran at 70 per 1,000 a year, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (10.2) and Irish towns (15.3). For its size, Cork City Centre records more crime per resident than 97% of the 201 Irish towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. The graded crime recorded most in the town was assaults and harassment (2023–2025).
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 | Cork City Centre | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 23.5 | 5.5 | 5.7 |
| Theft | 70 | 10.2 | 15.3 |
| All recorded crime | 199.7 | 43.4 | 54.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 12.9 | 4.8 | 6.4 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Self-reported good health: 87% of Cork City Centre’s residents. Unpaid carers make up 2.5% of residents, lower than both Co. Cork’s towns (5.9%) and Irish towns (5.4%). 2.7% of residents report bad or very bad health.
| Census 2022 | Cork City Centre | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 2.5% | 5.9% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.7% | 2% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 88% | 88% |
| With a disability | 23% | 24% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Single-sex secondaries: 52%, above both Co. Cork’s towns (44%) and Irish towns (39%). Families in Cork City Centre have 77 schools within 3 km to choose from: 43 primary schools, 25 secondary schools and 9 special schools. The nearest secondary, St Aloysius School, is 0.5 km away.
| 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 | Cork City Centre | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 48% | 35% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 52% | 44% | 39% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +1% | +2% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No letters and no results: Ireland publishes none school by school.
7% of households are owner-occupiers. Social housing holds a fifth of households, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (14%) and Irish towns (13%).
| Housing | Cork City Centre | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 7% | 60% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 72% | 21% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 20% | 14% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €386K | €340K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area T12, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
The EPA’s radon map puts 4% of homes in Cork City Centre above the reference level. 17% of homes stand low near the coast, above both Co. Cork’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%). The ground under Cork City Centre carries no high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Cork City Centre | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 83% | 2.1% | 0.5% |
| Low-lying near the coast | 17% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0.4% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
January nights bottom out at 3.6°C in Cork City Centre, close to Co. Cork’s towns (3.5°C) and above Irish towns (2.9°C). Day and night, summer and winter, Cork City Centre averages 11.0°C. This Co. Cork town gets 1,084 mm of rain a year.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Cork City Centre | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average temperature over the year | 11.0°C | 10.8°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 20.3°C | 20.0°C | 19.9°C |
| January low | 3.6°C | 3.5°C | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,084 mm | 1,114 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
A short walk to green space: 100% of homes, above both Co. Cork’s towns (88%) and Irish towns (92%). 11 parks and 3 ha of green space in all: that is Cork City Centre’s share. Green space comes to 0.9 ha for every 1,000 people in the town.
| Outdoors | Cork City Centre | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paths per km² of town | 6.7 km per km² | 1.7 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Near a park | 100% | 88% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 1.5% | 4.2% | 2.7% |
| Green space per 1,000 residents | 0.9 ha | 4.4 ha | 4.1 ha |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
A typical November day reaches 12°C and drops to 6°C at night: the forecast for Cork City Centre is set against that. The forecast keeps rain away today, with a gentle wind of up to 8 km/h and a low of 5°C. Wednesday stands out as the wet day ahead, with roughly 30 mm.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 10°C | 4°C | 325 mm |
| Spring | 14°C | 6°C | 226 mm |
| Summer | 20°C | 12°C | 224 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 8°C | 310 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
0.6% speak Irish daily outside school, below both Co. Cork’s towns (1.1%) and Irish towns (1.1%). Under 15: just over one in ten residents. Those 65 and older account for 9.1% of residents.
Women make up 47.5% of Cork City Centre
1,758 women and 1,943 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Cork City Centre | Co. Cork | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 19% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 52% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 16% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 9.1% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 6.5% | 8.3% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 7% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 25% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.9% | 5.9% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 55% | 38% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Cork and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
The general election drew a turnout of 60%. No party holds a majority on Cork City Council: Fianna Fáil lead with 9 of 31 seats, short of the 16 needed. One council serves Cork City Centre: Cork City Council.
| Turnout | Cork City Centre | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 42% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 60% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Relative to its size, Cork City Centre keeps 1,813 buildings on the inventory per 10,000 residents, above both Co. Cork’s towns (100) and Irish towns (48). There are 19 entries on the national archaeological record here. 671 of Cork City Centre’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage; 14 rank of national or international importance.
| Heritage | Cork City Centre | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 1,813 | 100 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 22.5% | 7.7% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 19 | 9 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
71% of 15 to 64s were in work, above Co. Cork’s towns (69%) and Irish towns (68%) alike. At the census, 17% of commuters went by car. The unemployment rate comes to 10%.
| Census 2022 | Cork City Centre | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €45,940 | €54,720 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 10% | 7.9% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 71% | 69% | 68% |
| Average trip | 25.6 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.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Cork City Centre. Best known first.
Art galleryCrawford Art Galleryin town
CathedralSt. Fin Barre's Cathedral300 m outside town, to the south
CathedralCathedral of St. Mary & St. Anne400 m outside town, to the north
CastleMTU Blackrock Castle Observatory3.9 km outside town, to the east
MuseumCork Butter Museum200 m outside town, to the north
Abbey or prioryRed Abbey200 m outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
No notable person born in Cork City Centre is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Neighbourhood in Cork
3,701 people live in Cork City Centre, 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)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cork City Centre | 3,701 | — | D− | C− | D− | D |
| Shandon | 3,539 | 0.5 | C− | C+ | D | C− |
| South Gate | 7,185 | 0.8 | D | C− | D− | D |
| Gurranebraher | 4,502 | 0.8 | D | C+ | C | D |
| Sunday's Well | 2,807 | 1 | C | C | C− | B |
| St Luke's | 4,278 | 1.2 | C+ | B− | D | B− |
| Blackpool | 3,124 | 1.2 | C | A | D | D |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Cork City Centre had 3,701 people at the 2022 census, up from 2,985 in 2016: 24% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Cork City Centre is 34, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
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).