Photo: Kenneth Allen · CC BY-SA 2.097% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, more than in 99% of Irish towns
Nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone across Ireland’s towns, against 30% in Castlefinn. The town had 730 residents in 307 households at the 2022 Census. Census figures put households in flats at 4.2% locally. At 2.6%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is lower than in 87% of Irish towns.
+2% since 2016, a pace below 82% 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.
The median change is +8% across Ireland’s towns and +6% across Co. Donegal’s towns.
Castlefinn is older than 68% of Irish towns: a median age of 39.1
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
With residents aged 65 and over at 16%, Castlefinn is ahead of 68% of Irish towns on that count. 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Donegal 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%.
Only 4.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Castlefinn
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: 18%, against a typical 11%. Here, 8.9% of residents 15 and over are students. Across Ireland’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 7.5%.
Smaller households than 86% of Irish towns: 2.4 people on average
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.
Against a figure of 43% across Ireland’s towns, the share of households of parents with children in Castlefinn comes in at 46%.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 74% of Irish towns, at 24%
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
Connected households: 83% on broadband; 16% offline (typical: 7.6%). Households without a car or van make up 17% across Ireland’s towns. For Castlefinn, the census puts holiday homes at 0.8%.
The median household brings in €33,160 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
The median household earns €33,160 gross, 45% less than the Ireland median (€60,120). For Co. Donegal, the figure is €42,500.
1.8% of residents are citizens of another country, below 99% 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 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.
The most common home language after English is Spanish (0.7%); in all 3.1% speak another language, and 0.4% speak English not well or not at all. Across the comparison, 15% of residents are citizens of another country across Ireland’s towns. Few places have so few residents born outside Ireland: 20% here, fewer than in three fifths of Irish towns.
Daily speakers of Irish outside education make up 0.3% in Castlefinn, less than in 99% of Irish towns
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%). On average, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns. Some 134 people here, 20% of residents aged 3 and over, can speak Irish.
Castlefinn sits below 99% of Irish towns for residents with no religion (7.8%)
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: 97% of Castlefinn · Co. Donegal’s towns 83% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who said they are Catholic: 84% here and 71% across Ireland’s towns. Set beside that, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns. Next after White Irish come Other White (2.1%), Asian or Asian Irish (0.7%) and Irish Traveller (0.1%).
A smaller share of married residents 15 and over than 71% 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.
5.8% of residents give unpaid care, about the same as across Ireland’s towns. As a yardstick, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Adults with a degree or higher: 17%, a lower share than 94% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
4.3% of Castlefinn’s adults hold a postgraduate qualification, and 27% finished their education at primary level or earlier (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). Across Ireland’s towns, the share of adults with a degree or higher is 36%.
Castlefinn sits below 2 of its 4 closest neighbours on median age
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlefinn | 730 | — | 39.1 | 16% | 46% |
| Lifford | 1,613 | 7.3 km | 39.1 | 16% | 43% |
| Raphoe | 1,161 | 7.5 km | 40.1 | 20% | 41% |
| Convoy | 1,702 | 8.0 km | 37.5 | 17% | 47% |
| Ballybofey-Stranorlar | 5,406 | 12.1 km | 39.3 | 17% | 44% |
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 Castlefinn’s residents
What is the population of Castlefinn?
Castlefinn had 730 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Castlefinn?
The median age is 39.1. 23% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Castlefinn?
20% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (134 people), and 0.3% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Castlefinn?
97% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 20% were born abroad and 1.8% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Castlefinn?
84% are Catholic, 7.8% have no religion and 8% another religion; 4% didn’t say.
Is Castlefinn good for families?
46% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 23% of residents are under 18. Schools near Castlefinn are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Castlefinn?
Median gross household income in Castlefinn was €33,160 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).