Photo: William Murphy · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of residents with no religion than 84% of Irish towns, at 25%
With households in flats at 23%, Blackrock is ahead of 78% of Irish towns on that count. In 2022, the Census found 12,816 residents locally, living in 4,624 households. The census found that 17% of residents are 65 or over in the neighbourhood. 7.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, a higher share than in 69% of Irish towns.
What stands out about the people of Blackrock
A student neighbourhood
15% of residents aged 15 and over are students, more than in 92% of Irish towns; Ireland’s towns 10%. 13% of residents are 15 to 24. Social class & newcomers ↓
Growing more slowly than most
Blackrock went from about 12,710 people in 2016 to 12,816 in 2022, +1%: slower growth than in 89% of Irish towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Slower than most: +1% since 2016, behind 89% 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.
Set beside +8% across Ireland’s towns and +6% across Co. Dublin’s towns.
Blackrock is older than 73% of Irish towns: a median age of 39.5
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 20–24, with 7.9% of residents, 1.4 times the share across Ireland’s towns. In Dalkey, the oldest of Co. Dublin’s towns by this measure, it is 29%.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Blackrock, 39.5. The typical town is 37.6.
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. Dublin 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Students among residents 15 and over make up 15% in Blackrock, more than in 92% of Irish towns
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 professional occupations: 40%, where 21% is typical. Locally, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. To put it in context, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
41% of households are parents with children, fewer than in 63% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Dublin’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
At 2.7 people, the average household compares with 2.7 across Ireland’s towns. Elsewhere, 43% of households are parents with children across Ireland’s towns. Across Blackrock, nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone.
A lower share of households without a car or van than 64% of Irish towns, at 15%
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
Broadband reaches 96% of households; 3.7% have no internet at all (typical: 7.6%). To put it in context, 17% of households have no car or van across Ireland’s towns. For Blackrock, the census puts holiday homes at 0.4%.
Household income at the median: €96,840 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Half of households are above €96,840 a year before tax: 61% over the Ireland median (€60,120). Co. Dublin’s median household income is €71,120.
Above 62% of Irish towns: 25% of residents were born outside Ireland
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 outside the EU and UK (10%) and in the UK (6.3%). Residents born outside Ireland: 22% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison. 15% of residents are citizens of another country, a higher share than in 55% of Irish towns.
Daily speakers of Irish outside education make up 1.8% in Blackrock, more than in 88% 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
Some 5,618 people here, 47% of residents aged 3 and over, can speak Irish. For daily speakers of Irish outside education, the comparison across Ireland’s towns is 1.1%. In Co. Dublin, Monkstown has the highest share (2.5%).
In Blackrock, 62% of residents said they are Catholic, fewer than in 79% 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: 79% of Blackrock · Co. Dublin’s towns 78% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White Irish, the biggest groups are Other White (9.8%), Asian or Asian Irish (7.4%) and Other, including mixed (3.1%). Across Ireland’s towns, the share of residents who said they are Catholic is 71%. More residents who describe themselves as White Irish than in 54% of Irish towns: 79%.
39% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 85% of Irish towns don’t reach
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.
5.9% of residents give unpaid care, about the same as across Ireland’s towns. Elsewhere, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
70% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, a share 98% of Irish towns don’t reach
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Postgraduate: 34% of adults. The comparison figure for adults with a degree or higher is 36% across Ireland’s towns. Primary level or earlier: 2.5%, against 9.7% across Ireland’s towns.
Of 41 towns its size (10,952 to 14,937 people), the 10th oldest
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Ages run from 29.4 in Clonskeagh to 44.7 in Foxrock. Nearest to Blackrock in age: Mahon (39.4), Corbally and King's Island (39.5), Arklow (39.6) and Wicklow (39.7).
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Blackrock
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census neighbourhood.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackrock | 12,816 | — | 39.5 | 17% | 41% |
| Monkstown | 9,831 | 1.2 km | 43 | 21% | 39% |
| Stillorgan | 18,212 | 1.6 km | 40 | 19% | 42% |
| Booterstown | 8,505 | 1.9 km | 37.2 | 17% | 34% |
| Sandyford | 8,844 | 2.8 km | 35.2 | 14% | 37% |
| Foxrock | 12,163 | 2.9 km | 44.7 | 22% | 47% |
| Sallynoggin | 13,245 | 3.2 km | 36.6 | 13% | 43% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Dublin’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Dublin’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.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Neighbourhood figures are TownRatings sums of CSO Small Areas
Questions about Blackrock’s residents
What is the population of Blackrock?
Blackrock had 12,816 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its neighbourhood, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Blackrock?
The median age is 39.5, older than 73% of Irish towns. 20% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Blackrock?
47% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (5,618 people), and 1.8% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Blackrock?
79% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 25% were born abroad and 15% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Blackrock?
62% are Catholic, 25% have no religion and 13% another religion; 3.8% didn’t say.
Is Blackrock good for families?
41% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 20% of residents are under 18. Schools near Blackrock are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Blackrock?
Median gross household income in Blackrock was €96,840 in 2022, against €71,120 across Co. Dublin 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 · Neighbourhood figures are TownRatings sums of CSO Small Areas. 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).