Photo: Stardomax · CC BY-SA 4.0Whitegate ranks above 98% of Irish towns on households of parents with children: 60%
Across Ireland’s towns, households average 2.7 people; in Whitegate, 3.1. Here, 4.2% of households have no car or van. Higher than in 90% of Irish towns: 88% of residents describe themselves as White Irish. 1,248 residents in 397 households: that is Whitegate at the 2022 Census.
What stands out about the people of Whitegate
A town of families
50% of households are couples with children and 10% lone parents with children, more than in 98% of Irish towns; 28% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A student town
14% of residents aged 15 and over are students, more than in 89% of Irish towns; Ireland’s towns 10%. 12% of residents are 15 to 24. Social class & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
From 2016 to 2022, Whitegate outgrew 53% of Irish towns: +8%
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.
Across Co. Cork’s towns the median is +7%, and across Ireland’s towns +8%.
Only 7.5% of residents are 65 or over in Whitegate
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
With a median age of 36.6, Whitegate is younger than 64% of Irish towns. To put it in context, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns. For Whitegate, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 12%. In Montenotte, the oldest of Co. Cork’s towns by this measure, it is 25%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Cork 50.9%, Ireland 51.2%.
A higher share of students among residents 15 and over than 89% of Irish towns, at 14%
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
Work here tilts toward skilled trades, at 13% against a typical 11%. Set beside that, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns. Locally, 5.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Fewer one-person households than 92% of Irish towns: 15%
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Cork’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Whitegate has more shared households of unrelated adults than nearly three fifths of Irish towns, at 5.5%. For comparison, nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone across Ireland’s towns.
A lower share of households in flats than 98% of Irish towns, at 1.3%
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
Internet at home: broadband for 89%, nothing for 4.4% (typical: 7.6%). The benchmark for households in flats across Ireland’s towns: 12%. On the census count, 1.1% of homes are holiday homes.
€71,200 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.
The median household earns €71,200 gross, 18% more than the Ireland median (€60,120). In Co. Cork overall, the median comes to €60,670.
Only 14% of residents were born outside Ireland in Whitegate
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.
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the UK (5.9%) and outside the EU and UK (4.3%). Lower than in 89% of Irish towns: 7.7% of residents are citizens of another country. The wider picture: 22% of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns.
Irish speakers: 50% of Whitegate’s residents
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
Daily speakers of Irish outside education make up 0.8%, close to the figure across Ireland’s towns. Top of Co. Cork: Ballincollig, at 2.1%.
Residents who said they are Catholic make up 77% in Whitegate, more than in 80% 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: 88% of Whitegate · Co. Cork’s towns 81% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White Irish, most residents describe themselves as Other White (8.4%), Black or Black Irish (1.6%) and Asian or Asian Irish (1.1%). 17% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 52% of Irish towns. For comparison, 71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns.
More married residents 15 and over than 83% of Irish towns: 39%
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.
There is little gap on unpaid carers: 5%, about the same as across Ireland’s towns. The usual figure: 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Whitegate sits above 54% of Irish towns for adults with a degree or higher (37%)
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
At the top, 12% of adults have a postgraduate qualification; at the other end, 5.5% finished at primary level or earlier, against 9.7% across Ireland’s towns. 17% of residents 15 and over are still in education. Set beside that, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
A younger town than 5 of the 6 around it: Whitegate
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitegate | 1,248 | — | 36.6 | 7.5% | 60% |
| Aghada-Rostellan | 1,159 | 1.3 km | 43.5 | 15% | 48% |
| Crosshaven | 3,263 | 5.6 km | 39.9 | 15% | 47% |
| Cobh | 14,148 | 6.1 km | 38.7 | 13% | 46% |
| Cloyne | 1,967 | 7.8 km | 37.7 | 11% | 54% |
| Passage West-Monkstown | 6,051 | 9.0 km | 39.6 | 14% | 48% |
| Carrigtwohill | 5,568 | 9.6 km | 34.9 | 6% | 60% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Cork’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Cork’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 1,248 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 36.6. 34% are under 18 and 7.5% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Whitegate?
50% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (562 people), and 0.8% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Whitegate?
88% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 14% were born abroad and 7.7% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Whitegate?
77% are Catholic, 17% have no religion and 5.8% another religion; 7.4% didn’t say.
Is Whitegate good for families?
60% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 34% 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 €71,200 in 2022, against €60,670 across Co. Cork 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).