Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Co. Donegal, home to 927 people.
The median sale, €145,000, comes to 3.5 times what the median household here earns. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records 17 buildings here. The car is not the only way to work here: nearly one in ten commuters walk, cycle or use public transport. The median sale price, 2023 to 2025: €191,400.
Irish towns are graded from 1,000 residents, which leaves Glenties out for now.
The 3 things Glenties does most differently from other towns.
The record adds 1 archaeological site.
Homes built before 1919: 8%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Glenties.
Families in Glenties have 3 schools within 3 km to choose from: 2 primary schools and 1 secondary school. St Columba's Comprehensive School is the nearest secondary school, 0.7 km away. Since 2019/20, pupils changed +11%, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (+7%) and Irish towns (+4%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 155 | Catholic |
| St Columba's Comprehensive School DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Comprehensive | Post-primary · Comprehensive | 400 | Inter-denominational |
| St Riaghans N.S. DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 26 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Glenties | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 100% | 38% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 7% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +11% | +7% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No letters, no results: Irish schools aren’t ranked one by one.
2% of homes stand on ground with high landslide susceptibility, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (0.5%) and Irish towns (0%). Dooey, 11 km from Glenties, is the closest bathing water; it was rated excellent in 2025. Radon is rarely a worry here: under 1% of homes are estimated above the reference level.
| Share of homes | Glenties | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 2% | 0.5% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 28% | 4.2% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Over twelve months, Glenties averages 9.6°C. July afternoons reach 18.4°C here, close to Co. Donegal’s towns (18.6°C) and below Irish towns (19.9°C). On a January night, the temperature in Glenties falls to about 2.2°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Glenties | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.4°C | 18.6°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,699 mm | 1,316 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.6°C | 9.7°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 2.2°C | 2.5°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Ages taken into account, Glenties counts 103 people with a disability for every 100 predicted. 26% of residents have a disability, about level with Co. Donegal’s towns (25%) and above Irish towns (22%). Self-reported good health: 85% of Glenties’ residents. In the HSE West and North West health region, just over a third of people hold a medical card.
| Census 2022 | Glenties | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 3.2% | 2.4% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 85% | 86% | 88% |
| With a disability | 26% | 25% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.7% | 5.8% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Owners make up just over two thirds of households. 20% live in social housing, above Co. Donegal’s towns (15%) and Irish towns (13%) alike.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €141,200 | 48 |
| Housing | Glenties | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 10% | 24% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €145K | €181K | €350K |
| Households in social housing | 20% | 15% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 68% | 55% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Within 1 km, 13% of the land is woodland, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (4.5%) and Irish towns (2.7%). Among the protected sites near Glenties is West of Ardara/Maas Road SAC.
| Outdoors | Glenties | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 0% | 54% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 31% | 4.7% | 1.8% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 13% | 4.5% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.0 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.
In November a normal day reaches 10°C and a normal night 5°C; the forecast for Glenties below sets each day against them. It should be dry and calm today, with wind of 16 km/h at most and a low around 4°C. Expect highs from 6°C to 10°C over the rest of the week, with Thursday the warmest.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 522 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 315 mm |
| Summer | 18°C | 10°C | 363 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | 7°C | 500 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
By car: that was how 83% of commuters travelled at the census. Working mainly from home: 7% of workers, below Co. Donegal’s towns (11%) and Irish towns (11%) alike. Getting to work takes 23.5 min on average.
| Census 2022 | Glenties | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 55% | 56% | 31% |
| Average trip | 23.5 min | 20.9 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €40,880 | €39,838 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 11% | 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.
People 65 and over make up 26% of the town. Children under 15 make up 17%, below Co. Donegal’s towns (21%) and Irish towns (20%) alike. Just over a fifth of adults hold a degree.
Women make up 53.0% of Glenties
491 women and 436 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Glenties | Co. Donegal | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 26% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 21% | 14% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 16% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 35% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.5% | 6.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 22% | 29% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Donegal and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Local election turnout came to 54%. Fianna Fáil lead Donegal County Council with 10 of 37 seats, but no party has a majority: 19 are needed. Also worth knowing: in the Dáil, Glenties is part of Donegal, which elects 5 TDs.
| Turnout | Glenties | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 54% | 53% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 59% | 59% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The Sites and Monuments Record lists 1 sites here, below Co. Donegal’s towns (18) and Irish towns (11) alike. Homes from before 1919 make up 7.5% of the total. Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 17 buildings in Glenties, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded one site here.
| Heritage | Glenties | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 183 | 105 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 7.5% | 4.7% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 1 | 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 Glenties; with it, the best known within 40 km.
National parkGlenveagh National Park29 km northeast
Castle · Office of Public WorksDonegal Castle19 km southeast
CastleGlenveagh Castle34 km northeast
MuseumDonegal Railway Heritage Centre19 km southeast
CastleClassiebawn Castle39 km southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 17 buildings in Glenties, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded one site here.
6 notable people were born in Glenties.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenties | 927 | — | — | — | — | — |
| An Clochán Liath | 1,247 | 18 | — | B+ | C | C− |
| Donegal | 2,749 | 19 | A− | B+ | B− | B |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Glenties had 927 people at the 2022 census, up from 907 in 2016: 2.2% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Glenties is 46.8, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Donegal
Glenties has 927 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).