Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Just 6% of residents are 65 or older. Home to 9,669 people, this town lies in Co. Dublin.
A well-rated place to live, with prices to match. Its strongest is health: 71 residents in bad health and 96 with a disability for every 100 its ages predict. With an A− overall, Donabate sits #71 of 320 Irish towns. That leaves it better than 78% of Irish towns. Jobs & income is another plus — the unemployment rate is 6%, with 71% of 15 to 64s in work. What holds it back is cost of living (C−) — half the homes sold for more than €490,000, a price of 5.1 times what the median household earns.
Figures: health and work, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO.
This town's Hazard risk Grade uses radon and landslides only: open LiDAR heights don't cover enough of its homes to measure flooding, so flood isn't counted for or against it.
The 3 things Donabate does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Donabate 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 →
11 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
1% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Donabate. Best known first.
CastleMalahide Castle4 km outside town, to the south
CastleSwords Castle4.8 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumCasino Model Railway Museum3.3 km outside town, to the southHistoric houseHistoric houseNewbridge House & Farm300 m outside town, to the westWater parkWater parkBlast Windsurfing and Windfoiling1.8 km outside town, to the southwestHistoric siteHistoric siteSaint Sylvester's Well3.2 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Donabate.
For secondary school, the closest is Donabate Community College, 0.3 km from the town. Families locally have 6 schools within 3 km to choose from: 4 primary schools, 1 secondary school and 1 special school. Since 2019/20, pupils changed +2%, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (+4%) and Irish towns (+4%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donabate/Portrane Educate Together NS Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 414 | Multi-denominational |
| Donabate Community CollegeLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 799 | Multi-denominational |
| Gaelscoil na Mara GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 123 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Donabate | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 40% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 40% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 17% | 7% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +2% | +4% | +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.
Donabate’s nearest bathing water is Donabate, Balcarrick Beach, 2.7 km away, rated excellent in 2025. Under 1% of homes locally are estimated to have radon above the reference level. Landslides: none of Donabate lies in a high-susceptibility zone.
| Share of homes | Donabate | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
93% of Donabate’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than both Co. Dublin’s towns (89%) and Irish towns (88%). A disability affects 18% of people locally. Ages taken into account, Donabate counts 96 people with a disability for every 100 predicted.
| Census 2022 | Donabate | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 93% | 89% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1% | 1.9% | 2% |
| With a disability | 18% | 22% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 4.9% | 5.3% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Private renters make up 13% of households, lower than both Co. Dublin’s towns (20%) and Irish towns (22%). 7% of households rent from a council or housing body. A buyer in Donabate paid 65% more for a typical home in 2025 than in 2010: €490K against €296K.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €499,500 | 268 |
| Second-hand homes | €460,000 | 316 |
| The last 12 months | €490,000 | 316 |
| Housing | Donabate | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 79% | 66% | 61% |
| Median sale price | €490K | €450K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 13% | 20% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 7% | 10% | 13% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
At the census, 28% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, between Co. Dublin’s towns (36%) and Irish towns (23%). The unemployment rate comes to 6.1%. Workers spend 34 min getting to work, on average.
| Census 2022 | Donabate | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €95,871 | €72,400 | €57,760 |
| Average trip | 34 min | 31.1 min | 27.6 min |
| Unemployment rate | 6.1% | 7.4% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 27% | 23% | 31% |
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.
In January, overnight lows in Donabate settle at 3.4°C. Here July highs average 19.6°C, below Co. Dublin’s towns (19.9°C) and Irish towns (19.9°C) alike. Day and night, summer and winter, Donabate averages 10.5°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Donabate | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 3.4°C | 2.9°C | 2.9°C |
| July high | 19.6°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 725 mm | 770 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.5°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Its paths and tracks come to 2.8 km per km², lower than Co. Dublin’s towns (5.5 km per km²) yet higher than Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Among the protected sites near Donabate is Rogerstown Estuary SAC. Every 1,000 residents of Donabate share 15.2 ha of green space. This Co. Dublin town has one park, with 147 ha of green space in all.
| Outdoors | Donabate | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea within 5 km | 32% | 3.7% | 0% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 6.8% | 2.2% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 2.8 km per km² | 5.5 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Green space per 1,000 residents | 15.2 ha | 7.6 ha | 4.1 ha |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
A typical November day reaches 11°C and drops to 6°C at night: the forecast for Donabate is set against that. Some 1 mm of rain falls today, driven by wind of up to 34 km/h; the low reaches 10°C. By December, a normal day reaches 9°C and a normal night 4°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 174 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 152 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 12°C | 185 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 215 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Among adults, 52% have a degree. 24% are under 15, above Co. Dublin’s towns (17%) and Irish towns (20%) alike. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 14% of residents.
50.9% of Donabate’s residents are women
4,917 women and 4,752 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Donabate | Co. Dublin | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 24% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 5.6% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 3.9% | 8.5% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 7.7% | 11% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 30% | 30% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.4% | 5.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 52% | 44% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Dublin and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Fingal County Council runs Donabate: Ireland has one tier of local government, with no town council below it. Turnout at the last local elections was 47%, about level with Irish towns (46%) and above Co. Dublin’s towns (42%). The town sits in the Rush-Lusk local electoral area, which elects 5 councillors.
| Turnout | Donabate | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 61% | 57% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 47% | 42% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The Sites and Monuments Record lists 11 sites here, above Co. Dublin’s towns (6) and close to Irish towns (11). 18 of Donabate’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
| Heritage | Donabate | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 19 | 9 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 1% | 1.2% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Homes see 4.9 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. In 2023–2025, damage to property led the graded crimes in Donabate. Among the 201 Irish towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Donabate has less crime per resident than 65% 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 | Donabate | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 4.9 | 7.5 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
18 of Donabate’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 11 archaeological sites in and around the town.
4 notable people were born in Donabate.
Brendan Ryan: Labour Youth, CC BY 2.0
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
Donabate had 9,669 people at the 2022 census, up from 7,713 in 2016: 25.4% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Donabate is 35.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
17% mostly work from home, and 27% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Dublin
9,669 people live in Donabate, in the area of Fingal 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).