Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 6,971 people, lies in Co. Donegal. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage lists 79 of its buildings.
Buncrana’s weakest is walkability: on the way to work, 13% walk, cycle or take the bus or train, where the typical Irish town has 23%. With a C+ overall, Buncrana is better than 42% of Irish towns and ranks #187 of 320 Irish towns. Housing is within reach: a typical home sold for €156,000, or 4.1 years of the town’s median household income. It lags on safety as well (C−): per 1,000 residents a year, gardaí record 9.9 violent crimes and 5.9 burglaries and acts of criminal damage.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · commuting, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025.
The 3 things Buncrana does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Buncrana 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 record adds 19 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 6%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Buncrana.
19% of households are private tenants. Only one of the 6 towns in Co. Donegal costs less to buy into than Buncrana, whose median sale is €156,000. Renting cost €893 a month on average, near Co. Donegal’s towns (€868) and lower than Irish towns (€1,606).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €152,000 | 136 |
| The last 12 months | €219,500 | 61 |
| Housing | Buncrana | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €156K | €185K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €893 | €868 | €1,606 |
| Households owning their home | 64% | 53% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 19% | 25% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
The graded crime recorded most in Buncrana was assaults and harassment (2023–2025). Among the 201 Irish towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Buncrana has more crime per resident than 69% of them. Theft, shown but not graded, ran at 4.1 per 1,000 a year, below both Co. Donegal’s towns (5.3) and Irish towns (15.3).
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 | Buncrana | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 9.9 | 6.6 | 5.7 |
| Theft | 4.1 | 5.3 | 15.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 5.9 | 4.9 | 6.4 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Short trips: 56% under 15 minutes, about level with Co. Donegal’s towns (55%) and above Irish towns (31%). The jobless rate is 12%. Also worth knowing: at the census, nearly one in ten workers worked mainly from home.
| Census 2022 | Buncrana | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 56% | 55% | 31% |
| Average trip | 20.3 min | 21.5 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €38,343 | €41,333 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 12% | 14% | 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.
Since 2019/20, pupils changed +5%, lower than Co. Donegal’s towns (+10%) yet higher than Irish towns (+4%). Families in Buncrana have 7 schools within 3 km to choose from: 4 primary schools and 3 secondary schools. For secondary school, the closest is Coláiste Eoghain, 0.6 km from the town.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Iosagain Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 779 | Catholic |
| Scoil Mhuire Secondary School DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 885 | Catholic |
| Gaelscoil Bhun Cranncha GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 67 | Inter-denominational |
| Crana College DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 585 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Buncrana | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 29% | 0% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 43% | 33% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +5% | +10% | +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.
9.5% of homes stand low near a river, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (3.5%) and Irish towns (0.5%). For a swim, the nearest bathing water is Lady's Bay, Buncrana, 1.3 km from Buncrana, rated sufficient in 2025. By estimate, fewer than one home in a hundred in the town has radon above the reference level.
| Share of homes | Buncrana | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 1.1% | 0.2% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 9.5% | 3.5% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The annual mean in Buncrana is 9.7°C. 1,235 mm of rain falls in a year, lower than Co. Donegal’s towns (1,351 mm) yet higher than Irish towns (937 mm). Midwinter nights in Buncrana bottom out at 2.6°C on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Buncrana | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.4°C | 18.7°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,235 mm | 1,351 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.7°C | 9.7°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 2.6°C | 2.4°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Its 4 parks give Buncrana 19 ha of green space between them. Among the protected sites near Buncrana is Lough Swilly SAC. Woodland covers 3.3% of the land within 1 km, below Co. Donegal’s towns (4.9%) but above Irish towns (2.7%). For 53% of homes, green space is under 400 m away.
| Outdoors | Buncrana | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 12% | 4.3% | 1.8% |
| Sea within 5 km | 23% | 5.8% | 0% |
| Near a park | 53% | 55% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.3 km per km² | 0.4 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
28% were born abroad, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (24%) and Irish towns (22%). Degrees are held by 27% of adults. People 65 and over make up 16% of the town.
Women make up 51.2% of Buncrana
3,568 women and 3,403 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Buncrana | Co. Donegal | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 16% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 15% | 13% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 33% | 35% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.7% | 5.8% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 27% | 31% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Donegal and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
52% of voters turned out at the last local elections. Local government for Buncrana is Donegal County Council alone; Ireland has a single tier. With 10 of 37 seats, Fianna Fáil are the largest group on Donegal County Council, short of the 19 a majority needs.
| Turnout | Buncrana | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 52% | 53% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 59% | 59% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
6.1% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (4%) and Irish towns (3.4%). The ground here holds 19 recorded archaeological sites. Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 79 buildings in Buncrana, each of regional importance.
| Heritage | Buncrana | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 113 | 96 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 6.1% | 4% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 19 | 17 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Allowing for its ages, Buncrana has 105 residents with a disability per 100 expected, below Co. Donegal’s towns (113) and close to Irish towns (106). The town’s share in bad or very bad health, 2.3%, is the second lowest of the 6 towns in Co. Donegal. Family carers: 6.9% of the people in Buncrana look after someone without pay. Just over a third of people in the HSE West and North West health region hold a medical card.
| Census 2022 | Buncrana | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 6.9% | 5.6% | 5.4% |
| Good or very good health | 86% | 85% | 88% |
| With a disability | 23% | 25% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.3% | 2.4% | 2% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Buncrana. Best known first.
FortNeds Point Fortin townCastleCastleInch Island3.4 km outside town, to the southFortFortRathmullan Fort3.5 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 79 buildings in Buncrana, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded 19 sites here.
12 notable people were born in Buncrana.
Danny Hutton: Cornstalker, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mark Timlin: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buncrana | 6,971 | — | C+ | A | C− | B− |
| Muff | 1,418 | 13 | — | B+ | A | A− |
| Newtowncunningham | 1,192 | 16 | — | A− | A | C− |
| Milford | 1,076 | 17 | — | A | C | B− |
| Carndonagh | 2,768 | 17 | B− | A+ | B− | C |
| Ramelton | 1,288 | 17 | — | B− | A− | B |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
9% mostly work from home, and 56% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Buncrana had 6,971 people at the 2022 census, up from 6,910 in 2016: 0.9% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Buncrana is 39.8, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 22% of residents are under 15 and 16% are 65 or over.
Urban area in Co. Donegal
Buncrana has 6,971 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) · 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).