Photo: Kenneth Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0More people live alone than in 98% of Irish towns: 36% of households
96% of residents describe themselves as White Irish; across Ireland’s towns the figure is 78%. At the 2022 Census, 571 people lived in St. Johnston, in 239 households. The share of households in flats stands at 3.8%. Residents aged 15 to 24 are more common here than in three quarters of Irish towns.
+4% since 2016, a pace below 73% 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.
Across Co. Donegal’s towns the median is +6%, and across Ireland’s towns +8%.
Half of St. Johnston is over 38.2, older than 57% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
13% of residents are 65 or over, against 14% across Ireland’s towns. In Donegal, the oldest of Co. Donegal’s towns by this measure, it is 21%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Donegal 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%.
Only 4.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in St. Johnston
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
The occupation that stands out is elementary occupations: 21%, where 11% is typical. On average, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Ireland’s towns. The share of students among residents 15 and over stands at 8.7%.
Households here average 2.4 people, below 88% 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.
44% of households are parents with children, against 43% across Ireland’s towns. On the census count, 4.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
25% of households have no car or van, more than in 75% 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
The share of households with broadband is 74%; 24% have no internet at all (typical: 7.6%). Every 4th household or so has no car or van.
A median household income of €35,050 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
At €35,050 a year before tax, the median household income is 42% under that of Ireland (€60,120). Across Co. Donegal, the middle household has €42,500.
In St. Johnston, 3.9% of residents are citizens of another country, fewer than in 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 two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the UK (19%) and outside the EU and UK (0.5%). To put it in context, 15% of residents are citizens of another country across Ireland’s towns. 21% of residents were born abroad, against 26% across Co. Donegal’s towns and 22% across Ireland’s towns.
Of St. Johnston’s residents, 17% can speak Irish
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
St. Johnston sits close to the norm on daily speakers of Irish outside education: 0.8%, about the same as across Ireland’s towns. 85 residents, 17% of those aged 3 and over, can speak Irish.
Residents with no religion make up 7.6% in St. Johnston, less than in 99% 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: 96% of St. Johnston · Co. Donegal’s towns 83% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who said they are Catholic is 85%, against 71% across Ireland’s towns. The comparison figure for residents with no religion is 17% across Ireland’s towns. Behind White Irish, the largest groups are Other White (2.5%), Other, including mixed (1%) and Black or Black Irish (0.2%).
Married residents 15 and over make up 28% in St. Johnston, less than in 86% of Irish towns
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.
Unpaid carers: 6.1%, near enough the figure across Ireland’s towns. For comparison, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Adults with a degree or higher: 14%, a lower share than 96% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Postgraduate qualifications are held by 1.7% of adults here, while 22% stopped at primary level or earlier (9.7% across Ireland’s towns). The comparison figure for adults with a degree or higher is 36% across Ireland’s towns.
3 of the 6 nearest towns are older than St. Johnston
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Johnston | 571 | — | 38.2 | 13% | 44% |
| Newtowncunningham | 1,192 | 7.5 km | 36.1 | 12% | 55% |
| Lifford | 1,613 | 11.1 km | 39.1 | 16% | 43% |
| Raphoe | 1,161 | 11.2 km | 40.1 | 20% | 41% |
| Convoy | 1,702 | 14.9 km | 37.5 | 17% | 47% |
| Ramelton | 1,288 | 16.8 km | 41.5 | 18% | 41% |
| Letterkenny | 22,549 | 17.4 km | 35.7 | 12% | 43% |
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 St. Johnston’s residents
What is the population of St. Johnston?
St. Johnston had 571 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 4% more than 2016.
What is the average age in St. Johnston?
The median age is 38.2. 24% are under 18 and 13% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in St. Johnston?
17% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (85 people), and 0.8% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is St. Johnston?
96% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 21% were born abroad and 3.9% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in St. Johnston?
85% are Catholic, 7.6% have no religion and 7.8% another religion; 7.9% didn’t say.
Is St. Johnston good for families?
44% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 24% of residents are under 18. Schools near St. Johnston are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in St. Johnston?
Median gross household income in St. Johnston was €35,050 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).