Photo: Original uploader was Noelfirl at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in flats: 3.2%, a lower share than 95% of Irish towns
Half of Palmerston’s residents are over 40.4, older than in four fifths of Irish towns. The neighbourhood counted 11,012 residents and 3,681 households at the 2022 Census. Here, 88% of residents describe themselves as White Irish. A household here has 2.9 people on average; across Ireland’s towns, 2.7.
What stands out about the people of Palmerston
Fewer people than before
Palmerston went from about 11,150 people in 2016 to 11,012 in 2022, −1%: slower growth than in 97% of Irish towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Slower than most: −1% since 2016, behind 97% 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.
For comparison, the median is +8% across Ireland’s towns and +6% across Co. Dublin’s towns.
18% of residents are 65 or over, a share 79% of Irish towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: 7.6% of residents, 1.6 times the share across Ireland’s towns. The usual figure: 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 are more common here than in just over three quarters of Irish towns.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Palmerston, 40.4. The typical town is 37.6.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
Only 5.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Palmerston
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
Compared with a typical 9.8%, administrative and secretarial account for 15% of workers. The share of residents who moved in within the year across Ireland’s towns is 7.5%.
One-person households: 20%, a lower share than 71% 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.
In Palmerston, 4.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Households of parents with children make up 42%, against 43% across Ireland’s towns.
A lower share of households without a car or van than 57% of Irish towns, at 16%
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
7.1% of households have no internet access (typical: 7.6%); 91% have broadband. On the census count, 0.1% of homes are holiday homes. The wider picture: 17% of households have no car or van across Ireland’s towns.
Median household income here: €62,800 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Half of Palmerston’s households have a gross income above €62,800 a year and half below, close to the median for Ireland (€60,120). Co. Dublin comes in at €71,120 at the median.
Only 12% of Palmerston’s 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.
In Palmerston, 7.9% of residents are citizens of another country, beside 15% across Ireland’s towns. Set beside that, 22% of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are outside the EU and UK (4.6%) and in the UK (3.2%).
32% of Palmerston’s residents 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
Top of Co. Dublin: Monkstown, at 2.5%. Palmerston has more daily speakers of Irish outside education than 73% of Irish towns, at 1.4%.
In Palmerston, 74% of residents said they are Catholic, more than in 69% 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: 88% of Palmerston · Co. Dublin’s towns 78% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White Irish, the biggest groups are Other White (5.9%), Asian or Asian Irish (3.2%) and Other, including mixed (1.7%). Residents who said they are Catholic: 71% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison. At 17%, the share of residents with no religion is in line with the figure across Ireland’s towns.
More unpaid carers than 90% of Irish towns: 6.5% of residents
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.
Married residents 15 and over: 35% of the total. About 720 residents (6.5%) give regular unpaid care (Ireland’s towns 5.4%).
Palmerston sits below 79% of Irish towns for adults with a degree or higher (25%)
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
A postgraduate qualification is the highest level for 9% of adults; primary level or less for 17% (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). To put it in context, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Oldest by rank: 15th of 41 towns of 9,563 to 12,743 people
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
At the ends of the range sit Summerhill (30.5), the youngest, and Foxrock (44.7), the oldest. Nearest to Palmerston in age: Ballina (39.5), Terenure (39.6), Dungarvan (40.5) and Churchtown (40.5).
No nearby town is as old as Palmerston
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census neighbourhood.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmerston | 11,012 | — | 40.4 | 18% | 42% |
| Ronanstown | 11,130 | 1.3 km | 35.9 | 14% | 49% |
| Ballyfermot | 3,632 | 1.5 km | 38.8 | 17% | 41% |
| Carna | 2,897 | 1.6 km | 39.5 | 17% | 43% |
| Cherry Orchard | 8,280 | 1.6 km | 33 | 6.8% | 49% |
| Kylemore | 2,557 | 2.3 km | 39 | 16% | 42% |
| Carpenterstown | 20,967 | 2.5 km | 37.4 | 11% | 52% |
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 Palmerston’s residents
What is the population of Palmerston?
Palmerston had 11,012 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its neighbourhood, 1% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Palmerston?
The median age is 40.4, older than 80% of Irish towns. 21% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Palmerston?
32% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (3,149 people), and 1.4% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Palmerston?
88% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 12% were born abroad and 7.9% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Palmerston?
74% are Catholic, 17% have no religion and 9.1% another religion; 7.1% didn’t say.
Is Palmerston good for families?
42% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 21% of residents are under 18. Schools near Palmerston are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Palmerston?
Median gross household income in Palmerston was €62,800 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).