Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
785 residents make their home in this town in Co. Donegal. The population grew 9% between 2016 and 2022.
Ardara takes 4.3 years of the median household income to buy the median home, at €165,000. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records 13 buildings here. Homes here sold for a median €191,400 over 2023 to 2025. Households here earn a median €38,450 a year, before tax.
At under 1,000 residents, Ardara is too small for the grades Irish towns get.
The 3 things Ardara does most differently from other towns.
3 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
10% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ardara.
80% of the schools are in the DEIS scheme, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (38%) and Irish towns (35%). Families in Ardara have 5 schools within 3 km to choose from: 5 primary schools.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Muire Gan Smal DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 94 | Catholic |
| S.N. an Bhreacaigh Gaeltacht schoolTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 24 | Catholic |
| Gortnacart N.S. DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 16 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Ardara | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 40% | 7% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 80% | 38% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +5% | +7% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · There are no letters or results on these cards, because Ireland publishes none school by school.
Naran, 9.1 km from Ardara, is the closest bathing water; it was rated excellent in 2025. By estimate, 1.9% of homes in Ardara carry radon above the reference level. 2.3% of homes stand low near a river, between Co. Donegal’s towns (4.2%) and Irish towns (0.5%).
| Share of homes | Ardara | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0.5% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 2.3% | 4.2% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
January nights in Ardara drop to 2.8°C on average. Here July highs average 18.1°C, below Co. Donegal’s towns (18.6°C) and Irish towns (19.9°C) alike. Across the year, Ardara averages 9.8°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ardara | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.1°C | 18.6°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,614 mm | 1,316 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.8°C | 9.7°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 2.8°C | 2.5°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
In the HSE West and North West health region, just over a third of people hold a medical card. Allowing for its ages, Ardara has 104 residents with a disability per 100 expected, about level with Irish towns (106) and below Co. Donegal’s towns (113). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 1.7% of the town.
| Census 2022 | Ardara | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 86% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.7% | 2.4% | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 5% | 5.8% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 25% | 25% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
53% of households own their home, near Co. Donegal’s towns (55%) and lower than Irish towns (61%). The private rented sector houses 20% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €163,000 | 58 |
| Housing | Ardara | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 23% | 15% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €165K | €181K | €350K |
| Households owning their home | 53% | 55% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 20% | 24% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Within 5 km, 8.3% is sea, near Co. Donegal’s towns (8.7%) and higher than Irish towns (0%). 52% of homes are within 400 m of green space.
| Outdoors | Ardara | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 23% | 4.7% | 1.8% |
| Near a park | 52% | 54% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.1 km per km² | 0.4 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Woodland within 1 km | 2.1% | 4.5% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Long-term averages for Ardara put November days at 10°C and November nights at 5°C. The sky keeps its rain today; wind tops out at 17 km/h, and the low reaches 5°C. Rain barely features in the rest of the week, with 5 of 6 days dry.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 3°C | 519 mm |
| Spring | 12°C | 5°C | 295 mm |
| Summer | 18°C | 11°C | 315 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | 8°C | 486 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Short trips: 47% under 15 minutes, below Co. Donegal’s towns (56%) but above Irish towns (31%). A trip to work takes 23.9 min on average. Unemployment stands at 9.9%.
| Census 2022 | Ardara | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 47% | 56% | 31% |
| Median household income | €38,450 | €39,838 | €57,760 |
| Average trip | 23.9 min | 20.9 min | 27.6 min |
| Unemployment rate | 9.9% | 13% | 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.
Degrees are held by 28% of adults. People 65 and over make up 21% of the town, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (16%) and Irish towns (14%). Children under 15 count for 17% of the people here.
53.1% of Ardara’s residents are women
417 women and 368 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ardara | Co. Donegal | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 21% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 15% | 14% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 16% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 34% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.9% | 6.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 28% | 29% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Donegal and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Turnout at the last local elections was 54%, about level with Co. Donegal’s towns (53%) and above Irish towns (46%). Donegal County Council is the one council for Ardara; Ireland has no town or county councils between it and the government. Fianna Fáil lead Donegal County Council with 10 of 37 seats, but no party has a majority: 19 are needed.
| Turnout | Ardara | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 54% | 53% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 59% | 59% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
3 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie in and around the town. Homes from before 1919 make up a tenth of the total, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (4.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%).
| Heritage | Ardara | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 166 | 105 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 9.9% | 4.7% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 3 | 18 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
One place to visit is mapped within 5 km of Ardara; with it, the best known within 40 km.
National parkGlenveagh National Park36 km northeast
Castle · Office of Public WorksDonegal Castle22 km southeast
CastleClassiebawn Castle35 km south
MuseumDonegal Railway Heritage Centre22 km southeast
MuseumBallyshannon and District Museum32 km southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
13 of Ardara’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 3 archaeological sites in and around the town.
4 notable people were born in Ardara.
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
Ardara had 785 people at the 2022 census, up from 721 in 2016: 8.9% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Ardara is 40.8, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
74% of working residents drive to work and 16% walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the median of Irish towns: 23%).
Urban area in Co. Donegal
Ardara has 785 people, in the area of Donegal 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). 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).