Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its population rose 13% from 2016 to 2022. In Dublin, this neighbourhood has 11,657 residents.
Phibsborough’s weakest is safety: burglary and criminal damage run at 14.3 per 1,000 residents a year, violent crime at 17.4. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: on the way to work, 71% walk, cycle or take the bus or train, where the typical Irish town has 23%. Set against the median household income, the median home, at €454,500, costs 8.8 times as much. The overall grade lands at D, #289 of 320 Irish towns. On that grade it does better than 10% of Irish towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for health and B for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting, work and health, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · radon, EPA.
The 3 things Phibsborough does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Phibsborough 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 register holds 233 buildings on the National Inventory in Phibsborough, 8 of them of national importance.
25 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Phibsborough. Best known first.
Museum14 Henrietta Streetin town
Big drawMuseumNational Museum of Ireland1.1 km outside town, to the southeast · 783K visitors a year
CathedralSt Patrick's Cathedral600 m outside town, to the south
MuseumNational Library of Ireland1.1 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseLeinster House1.2 km outside town, to the southeast
CathedralChrist Church Cathedral200 m 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 Phibsborough.
Among the 118 Irish towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Phibsborough has more crime per resident than 96% of them. Thefts came to 30.4 per 1,000 a year (not part of the grade), higher than both Co. Dublin’s towns (18.5) and Irish towns (15.3). Of the graded crimes locally, assaults and harassment came up most often (2023–2025).
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 | Phibsborough | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 174.4 | 59.2 | 54.3 |
| Violent crime | 17.4 | 5.3 | 5.7 |
| Burglary & damage | 14.3 | 7.5 | 6.4 |
| Theft | 30.4 | 18.5 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Working mainly from home: just over one in ten workers, below Co. Dublin’s towns (14%) and close to Irish towns (11%). A tenth of people in the labour force have no job. Households take home €51,840 a year before tax, on average.
| Census 2022 | Phibsborough | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 60% | 71% | 68% |
| Median household income | €51,840 | €72,780 | €57,760 |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 17% | 23% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 10% | 7.3% | 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.
46% of the secondaries are single-sex, above Co. Dublin’s towns (40%) and Irish towns (39%) alike. Families in Phibsborough have 146 schools within 3 km to choose from: 93 primary schools, 39 secondary schools and 14 special schools. Belvedere College S.J is the nearest secondary school, 0.5 km away.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Christopher's NS DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 598 | Catholic |
| Belvedere College S.J BoysLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 1,011 | Catholic |
| Scoil Chaitriona GaelcholáisteTeaches through IrishPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 523 | Catholic |
| St Mary's Secondary School DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 830 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Phibsborough | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 51% | 40% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 46% | 40% | 39% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +7% | +4% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland publishes no school-by-school results, which is why these cards have no letters.
The private rented sector houses 58% of households. 17% live in social housing, higher than both Co. Dublin’s towns (10%) and Irish towns (13%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €454,000 | 195 |
| The last 12 months | €627,800 | 62 |
| Housing | Phibsborough | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 25% | 66% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 58% | 19% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 17% | 10% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €455K | €450K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
A July afternoon in Phibsborough typically reaches 20.1°C. Across the year it averages 10.6°C, above Co. Dublin’s towns (10.3°C) and Irish towns (10.3°C) alike. This Co. Dublin town sees January nights of 3.1°C on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Phibsborough | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average temperature over the year | 10.6°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 20.1°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 755 mm | 770 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 3.1°C | 2.9°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
There are 20 parks in Phibsborough; together its green space comes to 15 ha. Within 1 km, 0.4% of the land is woodland, below Co. Dublin’s towns (2.3%) and Irish towns (2.7%) alike. Per 1,000 residents, Phibsborough has 1.3 ha of green space.
| Outdoors | Phibsborough | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paths per km² of town | 7.6 km per km² | 5.4 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.4% | 2.3% | 2.7% |
| Green space per 1,000 residents | 1.3 ha | 7.6 ha | 4.1 ha |
| Near a park | 100% | 100% | 92% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Expect roughly 1 mm of rain today, wind picking up to 25 km/h, and a low of 10°C. Over the coming week, Tuesday looks wettest, with about 8 mm of rain. A typical November day reaches 11°C and drops to 5°C at night: the forecast for Phibsborough is set against that.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 185 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 158 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 12°C | 191 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 221 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
People aged 15 to 24 make up 16% of the town, above both Co. Dublin’s towns (12%) and Irish towns (12%). The 65-and-over age group makes up just over one in ten residents. 44% of residents have a birthplace overseas.
46.6% of Phibsborough’s residents are women
5,429 women and 6,228 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Phibsborough | Co. Dublin | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 7.8% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 16% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 46% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 19% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 14% | 8.4% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 13% | 11% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 25% | 30% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.2% | 5.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 44% | 44% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Dublin and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Turnout at the last local elections was 44%. Dublin City Council has no ruling majority: Fine Gael hold 11 of its 63 seats, short of the 32 needed. Phibsborough spans more than one of the local electoral areas: 74% of its residents vote in Cabra-Glasnevin, most of the rest in North Inner City.
| Turnout | Phibsborough | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 52% | 57% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 44% | 42% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The archaeological record lists 25 sites here. Scaled to its population, Phibsborough has 200 inventory buildings per 10,000 people, above both Co. Dublin’s towns (9) and Irish towns (48). Phibsborough’s built heritage counts 233 inventory entries; 8 carry national or international standing.
| Heritage | Phibsborough | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 200 | 9 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 44.2% | 1.2% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 25 | 6 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
The EPA’s radon map puts 3.8% of homes in Phibsborough above the reference level. Sandymount Strand, 5.4 km from Phibsborough, is the closest bathing water; it was rated sufficient in 2025. The ground under Phibsborough carries no high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Phibsborough | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 3.8% | 0% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
3.3% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, above Co. Dublin’s towns (1.9%) and Irish towns (2%) alike. Ages taken into account, Phibsborough counts 91 people with a disability for every 100 predicted. Unpaid caring falls to 2.7% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Phibsborough | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 2.7% | 5.3% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.3% | 1.9% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 85% | 89% | 88% |
| With a disability | 19% | 22% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Phibsborough’s built heritage counts 233 inventory entries; 8 carry national or international standing. The national record lists 25 archaeological sites in and around the town.
6 notable people were born in Phibsborough.
Harry Boland: Topical Press Agency / Stringer (Life time: Unknown), Public domain · Nellie Gifford: Unknown, Public domain · May Power: Patrick Tuohy, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phibsborough | 11,657 | — | D | C− | D− | B− |
| Parnell Square | 10,117 | 0.5 | C− | C+ | D− | B− |
| Stoneybatter | 18,644 | 0.9 | C− | C | D− | C+ |
| Summerhill | 11,911 | 0.9 | C− | B | D− | B− |
| O'Connell Street | 6,749 | 1 | C | C+ | D− | B |
| Cabra East | 13,895 | 1.2 | B− | B− | D− | B− |
| Ballybough | 8,188 | 1.4 | D | B− | D− | C− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Phibsborough had 11,657 people at the 2022 census, up from 10,342 in 2016: 12.7% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Phibsborough is 34.5, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Neighbourhood in Dublin
Phibsborough has 11,657 people, in the area of Dublin City Council. TownRatings splits Dublin into neighbourhoods made from the CSO’s Electoral Divisions, named from Tailte Éireann’s gazetteer, so each has figures of its own.
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).