Photo: Joseph Mischyshyn · CC BY-SA 2.0More holiday homes than 99% of Irish towns: 37%
Against a figure of 24% across Ireland’s towns, the share of one-person households in Bundoran comes in at 35%. At the 2022 Census Bundoran was home to 2,599 people in 949 households. In Bundoran, 36% of households are parents with children. With a median age of 38.4, Bundoran is older than nearly three fifths of Irish towns.
What stands out about the people of Bundoran
One home in 3 is a holiday home
About 720 of 1,940 homes were empty holiday homes on Census night (37%), more than in 99% of Irish towns; 12% were vacant. Homes & cars ↓
Growing faster than most
Bundoran went from about 2,120 people in 2016 to 2,599 in 2022, +23%: faster growth than in 93% of Irish towns. Population change ↓
More born abroad than anywhere else in Co. Donegal
34% of residents were born abroad, against 26% across Co. Donegal’s towns and 22% across Ireland’s towns. The largest groups were born in the UK (16%) and outside the EU and UK (11%); 18% are citizens of another country. Where people were born ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Since 2016, Bundoran has grown +23%, faster than 93% of Irish towns
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.
Medians for comparison: +8% across Ireland’s towns; +6% across Co. Donegal’s towns.
Bundoran: 16% of residents are 65 or over, above 69% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across Ireland’s towns, against 11% in Bundoran. For comparison, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Bundoran, 38.4. The typical town is 37.6.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Donegal 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%.
Above 85% of Irish towns: 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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
Workers here lean to skilled trades: 15%, against a typical 11%. Across the comparison, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Ireland’s towns.
2.3 people per household, fewer than in 89% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Donegal’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
4.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, about the same as across Ireland’s towns.
Households without a car or van make up 20% in Bundoran, more than in 63% of Irish towns
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 84%, nothing for 13% (typical: 7.6%). One household in 5 has no car or van, the highest share in Co. Donegal. Here, 9.9% of households live in a flat or apartment.
Household income, middle of the range: €36,930 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
A median gross household income of €36,930 sits 39% below Ireland (€60,120). County median: €42,500 (Co. Donegal).
Residents born outside Ireland make up 34% in Bundoran, more than in 88% of Irish towns
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 40%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 40%
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.
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the UK (16%) and outside the EU and UK (11%). Residents born outside Ireland: 22% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison. More residents with another country’s citizenship than in 65% of Irish towns: 18%.
Bundoran ranks below 96% of Irish towns on daily speakers of Irish outside education: 0.5%
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
The highest share in Co. Donegal belongs to Letterkenny (2.6%). The ability to speak Irish extends to 808 residents (34% of those aged 3 and over). Typically, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
In Bundoran, 76% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, fewer than in 57% 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: 76% of Bundoran · Co. Donegal’s towns 83% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
The census found that 70% of residents said they are Catholic in Bundoran. 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns, against 18% locally.
Fewer married residents 15 and over than 67% of Irish towns: 32%
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.
5.6% of residents give unpaid care. For comparison, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Adults with a degree or higher: 31%, a lower share than 63% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
8.6% of Bundoran’s adults hold a postgraduate qualification, and 9.1% finished their education at primary level or earlier (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). Across Ireland’s towns, adults with a degree or higher come to 36%.
Among 41 towns of 2,510 to 3,211 people, the 21st oldest
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Ages run from 30.4 in Kilbarry to 45.5 in Ballybrack. Nearest to Bundoran in age: Baltinglass (38.2), Bailieborough (38.2), Athboy (38.8) and Claddagh (38.9).
1 of the 2 nearest towns are older than Bundoran
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bundoran | 2,599 | — | 38.4 | 16% | 36% |
| Kinlough | 1,196 | 3.4 km | 35.2 | 13% | 49% |
| Ballyshannon | 2,246 | 6.5 km | 45 | 25% | 35% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Donegal’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Donegal’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 Bundoran’s residents
What is the population of Bundoran?
Bundoran had 2,599 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 23% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Bundoran?
The median age is 38.4, older than 59% of Irish towns. 23% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Bundoran?
34% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (808 people), and 0.5% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Bundoran?
76% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 34% were born abroad and 18% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Bundoran?
70% are Catholic, 18% have no religion and 12% another religion; 6.1% didn’t say.
Is Bundoran good for families?
36% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 23% of residents are under 18. Schools near Bundoran are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Bundoran?
Median gross household income in Bundoran was €36,930 in 2022, against €42,500 across Co. Donegal 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).