Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1,288 residents make their home in this town in Co. Donegal.
Ramelton’s strongest is safety — 3.2 burglaries and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, and 3.1 violent crimes. Buying the median home, at €260,000, takes 5.6 times the town’s median household income. It is hard to get around without a car (D): 13% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train, against 23% in the typical Irish town. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for health and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · commuting and health, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · radon, EPA. Irish towns get an overall grade from 2,500 residents, so Ramelton has subject grades only.
Rents for this town aren't published on their own, so its Cost Grade uses the county's average rent. Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level.
The 3 things Ramelton does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Ramelton 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 8 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 11%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ramelton.
Every kind together came to 27.6 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Co. Donegal’s towns (49.1) and Irish towns (54.3). The commonest graded crime in Ramelton was damage to property (2023–2025). Among the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Ramelton has less crime per resident than 67% of them.
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 | Ramelton | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 3.1 | 8.2 | 5.7 |
| Burglary & damage | 3.2 | 5.4 | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 27.6 | 49.1 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 2.3 | 4.9 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
On average, the journey to work lasts 22.3 min. 12% of the labour force were unemployed, below Co. Donegal’s towns (13%) but above Irish towns (9.2%). The census found 66% of 15- to 64-year-olds in work.
| Census 2022 | Ramelton | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 39% | 56% | 31% |
| Average trip | 22.3 min | 20.9 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €46,080 | €39,838 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 12% | 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.
Since 2019/20, pupils changed +3%, lower than both Co. Donegal’s towns (+7%) and Irish towns (+4%). The 4 schools within 3 km of Ramelton have 354 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 206 | Catholic |
| Scoil Naomh Cholmcille DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 68 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Ramelton | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 7% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 50% | 38% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +3% | +7% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Without school-level results from Ireland, the cards show no letters.
Ramelton gets 1,189 mm of rain a year. The year’s mean temperature is 9.8°C, near Co. Donegal’s towns (9.7°C) and lower than Irish towns (10.3°C). The coldest nights come in January, when Ramelton averages a low of 2.4°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ramelton | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.9°C | 18.6°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,189 mm | 1,316 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.8°C | 9.7°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 2.4°C | 2.5°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Woodland covers 7.4% of the land within 1 km, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (4.5%) and Irish towns (2.7%). Among the protected sites near Ramelton is Leannan River SAC. Green space comes to 1.1 ha for every 1,000 people in the town.
| Outdoors | Ramelton | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 100% | 54% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 7.4% | 4.5% | 2.7% |
| Sea within 5 km | 19% | 8.7% | 0% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.1 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.
The coming days top out somewhere between 5°C and 10°C; Thursday looks warmest. Long-term averages for Ramelton put November days at 11°C and November nights at 5°C. Expect a dry, calm day today: wind no stronger than 13 km/h, and 3°C at the coldest.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 376 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 231 mm |
| Summer | 18°C | 11°C | 254 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 327 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
18% of residents are 65 or over, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (16%) and Irish towns (14%). Born abroad: nearly a fifth of residents. Graduates make up 29% of adults.
Women make up 52.8% of Ramelton
680 women and 608 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ramelton | Co. Donegal | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 18% | 14% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 15% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 32% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.3% | 6.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 29% | 29% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Donegal and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Donegal County Council has no ruling majority: Fianna Fáil hold 10 of its 37 seats, short of the 19 needed. In the Dáil, Ramelton is part of Donegal, which elects 5 TDs. The town sits in the Milford local electoral area, which elects 3 councillors.
| Turnout | Ramelton | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 63% | 53% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 59% | 59% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Just over one in ten homes date from before 1919. The archaeological record lists 8 sites here. 80 of Ramelton’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage; 1 rank of national or international importance.
| Heritage | Ramelton | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 621 | 105 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 11.3% | 4.7% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 8 | 18 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Allowing for its ages, Ramelton has 100 residents in bad health per 100 expected, below both Co. Donegal’s towns (128) and Irish towns (113). 34% of people in the HSE West and North West health region hold a medical card. Weighed against its ages, disability in the town runs at 109 per 100 expected.
| Census 2022 | Ramelton | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 4.2% | 5.8% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 25% | 25% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 86% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.1% | 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
Rathmullan, 10 km from Ramelton, is the closest bathing water; it was rated good in 2025. Low-lying near a river: 6.5% of homes, above Co. Donegal’s towns (4.2%) and Irish towns (0.5%) alike. By estimate, fewer than one home in a hundred in the town has radon above the reference level.
| Share of homes | Ramelton | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 1.8% | 0.5% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 6.5% | 4.2% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
59% of households own their home, about level with Irish towns (61%) and above Co. Donegal’s towns (55%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €230,000 | 47 |
| Housing | Ramelton | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 19% | 15% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €260K | €181K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 19% | 24% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 59% | 55% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Nothing to visit is mapped within 5 km of Ramelton; these are the best known within 40 km.
National parkGlenveagh National Park25 km west
Castle · Office of Public WorksDoe Castle17 km northwest
CastleBurt Castle9.9 km east
CastleGlenveagh Castle20 km west
MuseumDonegal County Museum11 km southwest
MuseumFort Dunree Military Museum19 km northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
80 of Ramelton’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage; 1 rank of national or international importance. Archaeologists have recorded 8 sites here.
9 notable people were born in Ramelton.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramelton | 1,288 | — | — | B− | A− | B |
| Milford | 1,076 | 6.6 | — | A | C | B− |
| Letterkenny | 22,549 | 10 | D | B | C− | C− |
| Newtowncunningham | 1,192 | 10 | — | A− | A | C− |
| Buncrana | 6,971 | 17 | C+ | A | C− | B− |
| Raphoe | 1,161 | 19 | — | A | A− | D− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
12% mostly work from home, and 39% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Ramelton had 1,288 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,244 in 2016: 3.5% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Ramelton is 41.5, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Donegal
1,288 people live in Ramelton, 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).