Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 10,750 residents in Co. Dublin. Between 2016 and 2022, its population grew by 17%.
A good place to live, if you can afford it. Overall, Portmarnock earns an A+: better than 98% of Irish towns, and #1 of 116 in Co. Dublin. Its strongest is health (A+) — for every 100 its ages would predict, 50 residents are in bad health and 80 have a disability. The local economy does well: unemployment is 5%, and 77% of 15 to 64s have a job. What holds it back is cost of living (D−): the median sale, €680,000, comes to 7.5 times what the median household here 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 Portmarnock does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Portmarnock 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 →
38 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 Portmarnock. Best known first.
CastleMalahide Castle1.4 km outside town, to the northwest
CastleHowth Castle2.8 km outside town, to the southeast
GardenSaint Anne's Park4.4 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumNational Transport Museum of Ireland2.7 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumYe Olde Hurdy-Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio3.6 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumCasino Model Railway Museum1.6 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Portmarnock.
A disability affects 18% of people in Portmarnock. Among the 40 Irish towns closest to its size, Portmarnock ranks 2nd on the Health Grade. 92% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above both Co. Dublin’s towns (89%) and Irish towns (88%). At the census, 1% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2022 | Portmarnock | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 1% | 1.9% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 92% | 89% | 88% |
| With a disability | 18% | 22% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 6.1% | 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
2% live in social housing, below Co. Dublin’s towns (10%) and Irish towns (13%) alike. A buyer in Portmarnock paid 99% more for a typical home in 2025 than in 2010: €725K against €365K.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €710,000 | 157 |
| Second-hand homes | €643,000 | 254 |
| The last 12 months | €735,000 | 117 |
| Housing | Portmarnock | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €680K | €450K | €350K |
| Households owning their home | 83% | 66% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 2% | 10% | 13% |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €2,373 | €2,063 | €1,606 |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
28% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Co. Dublin’s towns (36%) but above Irish towns (23%). A household here earns €90,701 a year before tax, on average. A trip to work takes 33.2 min on average.
| Census 2022 | Portmarnock | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €90,701 | €72,400 | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 77% | 71% | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.6% | 7.4% | 9.2% |
| Average trip | 33.2 min | 31.1 min | 27.6 min |
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.
Violence came to 2.4 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Co. Dublin’s towns (5.3) and Irish towns (5.7). In 2023–2025, damage to property led the graded crimes in Portmarnock. Homes see 3.6 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year.
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 | Portmarnock | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 3.6 | 7.5 | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 19.6 | 59.2 | 54.3 |
| Violent crime | 2.4 | 5.3 | 5.7 |
| Theft | 7 | 18.5 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
The closest place to swim from Portmarnock is Portmarnock, Velvet Strand Beach, 1.1 km away, rated excellent in 2025. Radon above the reference level is estimated in 1.6% of homes in the town. Landslides: none of Portmarnock lies in a high-susceptibility zone.
| Share of homes | Portmarnock | 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.
Just over a quarter of the schools are in the DEIS scheme, lower than both Co. Dublin’s towns (40%) and Irish towns (35%). The nearest secondary, Portmarnock Community School, is 0.5 km away. Families in the town have 53 schools within 3 km to choose from: 36 primary schools, 12 secondary schools and 5 special schools.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Oliver Plunkett Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 838 | Catholic |
| Malahide Community SchoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 1,250 | Inter-denominational |
| Gaelcholáiste Reachrann GaelcholáisteTeaches through IrishPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 453 | Inter-denominational |
| Grange Community College DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 553 | Inter-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Portmarnock | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-sex secondaries | 17% | 40% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 26% | 40% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 6% | 7% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +6% | +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.
January nights bottom out at 3.3°C in Portmarnock, higher than both Co. Dublin’s towns (2.9°C) and Irish towns (2.9°C). The mean temperature over a year in the town is 10.5°C. This Co. Dublin town gets 725 mm of rain a year.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Portmarnock | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 19.6°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| January low | 3.3°C | 2.9°C | 2.9°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.
Portmarnock has 5 parks, with 99 ha of green space in all. Within 1 km, 0.8% of the land is woodland, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (2.3%) and Irish towns (2.7%). Every 1,000 residents of Portmarnock share 9.2 ha of green space.
| Outdoors | Portmarnock | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea within 5 km | 44% | 3.7% | 0% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 7.9% | 0.2% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 2.7 km per km² | 5.5 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.8% | 2.3% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
The heaviest rain of the week is due on Tuesday, around 6 mm. In November a normal day reaches 11°C and a normal night 6°C; the forecast for Portmarnock below sets each day against them. Around 2 mm of rain is due today, on a breeze of up to 31 km/h, with a low of 11°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 172 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 152 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 12°C | 186 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 215 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Under 15: 21% of residents. People aged 15 to 24 make up 8.8% of the town, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (12%) and Irish towns (12%). Overseas births account for 17% of the people living here.
51.2% of Portmarnock’s residents are women
5,499 women and 5,251 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Portmarnock | Co. Dublin | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 21% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 4.7% | 8.5% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 9.2% | 11% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 29% | 30% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.2% | 5.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 51% | 44% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Dublin and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
No party holds a majority on Fingal County Council: Independent lead with 7 of 40 seats, short of the 21 needed. Turnout at the last local elections was 45%, about level with Irish towns (46%) and above Co. Dublin’s towns (42%). One council serves Portmarnock: Fingal County Council.
| Turnout | Portmarnock | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 61% | 57% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 45% | 42% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Portmarnock has 7 inventory buildings for every 10,000 residents, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (10) and Irish towns (48). The pre-1919 share of homes is 1%.
| Heritage | Portmarnock | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 7 | 10 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 38 | 6 | 11 |
| 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
Portmarnock has 8 buildings on the national inventory of architectural heritage, 1 of them rated of national or international importance. The national record lists 38 archaeological sites in and around the town.
2 notable people were born in Portmarnock; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Orla O'Doherty: England Squash Masters, CC BY 2.0 · Keith Duffy: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Darragh O'Brien: Houses of the Oireachtas, CC BY 4.0 · Lee Desmond: Seaninryan, CC BY-SA 4.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portmarnock | 10,750 | — | A+ | D− | A | A+ |
| Malahide | 18,608 | 2.8 | A | D− | A | A+ |
| Clongriffin | 7,438 | 3 | B− | C+ | C | C+ |
| Baldoyle | 7,864 | 3.3 | B | C− | B | B+ |
| Belmayne | 15,047 | 3.7 | B | C | C | B+ |
| Sutton | 5,789 | 4.2 | B+ | D− | B | A |
| Donaghmede | 9,616 | 4.6 | C | C− | C+ | C+ |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Portmarnock had 10,750 people at the 2022 census, up from 9,180 in 2016: 17.1% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Portmarnock is 41.2, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Dublin
10,750 people live in Portmarnock, 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).