Photo: William Murphy · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer households of parents with children than 99% of Irish towns: 11%
Here 28% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, where the figure across Ireland’s towns is 4.7%. Portobello had 5,732 residents in 1,986 households at the 2022 Census. 64% of households have no car or van.
What stands out about the people of Portobello
More born abroad than most towns
46% of residents were born abroad, against 23% across Co. Dublin’s towns and 22% across Ireland’s towns. The largest groups were born outside the EU and UK (25%) and elsewhere in the EU (14%); 48% are citizens of another country. Where people were born ↓
More with no religion than most
41% answered “no religion”, against 17% across Ireland’s towns; 40% are Catholic (71%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A mix of backgrounds
47% of residents describe a background other than White Irish, more than in 95% of Irish towns. The largest groups after White Irish are Other White (27%), Other, including mixed (8.6%) and Asian or Asian Irish (7.2%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Portobello’s residents are under 33.4 and half over; the typical median across Irish towns is 37.6. 10% are 15 to 24 and 7.6% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
A +12% change since 2016: Portobello grew faster than 73% 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.
Across Ireland’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +8%; across Co. Dublin’s towns, by more than +6%.
Portobello is younger than 91% of Irish towns: a median age of 33.4
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Across Ireland’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 14%; Portobello has 7.6%. In Portobello, 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Portobello, 33.4. The typical town is 37.6.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 118 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Dublin 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 18%, a higher share than 96% 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
Where 21% is typical, professional occupations take in 35% of workers. Against that, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Ireland’s towns. Here, nearly one in ten residents 15 and over are students.
More people live alone than in 96% of Irish towns: 35% of households
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 2.1 people, the average household compares with 2.7 across Ireland’s towns. Measured more widely, 24% of households are one person living alone across Ireland’s towns.
75% of households live in a flat, more than in 97% of Irish towns
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
At home, 92% have broadband, while 7.2% have no internet access (typical: 7.6%). As a reference point, 12% of households live in a flat or apartment across Ireland’s towns. Here, 0.4% of homes are holiday homes.
Half of households earn more than €67,410 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Gross household income has a median of €67,410 a year here, 12% above Ireland (€60,120). Across Co. Dublin the median is €71,120.
Residents born outside Ireland make up 46% in Portobello, more than in 97% of Irish towns
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 55%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 55%
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.
Residents born abroad were most often born outside the EU and UK (25%), then elsewhere in the EU (14%). The comparison figure for residents born outside Ireland is 22% across Ireland’s towns. Compared with other places, residents with another country’s citizenship are common here: 48%, more than in 98% of Irish towns.
Able to speak Irish: 23% in Portobello
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
In all, 893 residents aged 3 and over (23%) can speak Irish. Daily speakers of Irish outside education are about as common here as across Ireland’s towns: 1%.
Residents with no religion make up 41% in Portobello, more than in 99% 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: 53% of Portobello · Co. Dublin’s towns 78% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White Irish come Other White (27%), Other, including mixed (8.6%) and Asian or Asian Irish (7.2%). 53% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, a lower share than in 95% of Irish towns. Against that, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns. Residents who said they are Catholic: 40%, below 99% of Irish towns.
Married residents 15 and over: 24%, a lower share than 96% of Irish towns
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.
With unpaid carers at 2.9%, Portobello is behind 97% of Irish towns on that count. Typically, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Above 98% of Irish towns: 69% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Across Ireland’s towns, 9.7% of adults finished at primary level or earlier; in Portobello, 4.7%, and 33% hold a postgraduate qualification. On average, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Youngest by rank: 4th of 41 towns of 5,226 to 6,355 people
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
At the ends of the range sit Gillabbey (25.6), the youngest, and Sutton (45.4), the oldest. Nearest to Portobello in age: Ballinfoile and Terryland (30.4), St Stephen's Green (32.2), Inishkenny (33.6) and Rathgar (34.2).
Portobello and its 6 nearest towns: 3 of them are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census neighbourhood.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portobello | 5,732 | — | 33.4 | 7.6% | 11% |
| Christchurch | 6,778 | 0.7 km | 37.7 | 13% | 18% |
| Temple Bar | 7,276 | 1.2 km | 31.4 | 6.2% | 12% |
| Rathmines West | 22,667 | 1.3 km | 34.3 | 10% | 19% |
| The Liberties | 18,460 | 1.3 km | 32.5 | 7.5% | 20% |
| St Stephen's Green | 5,319 | 1.5 km | 32.2 | 8.1% | 20% |
| Rathmines East | 16,923 | 1.6 km | 36.1 | 14% | 24% |
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 Portobello’s residents
What is the population of Portobello?
Portobello had 5,732 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its neighbourhood, 12% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Portobello?
The median age is 33.4, younger than 91% of Irish towns. 16% are under 18 and 7.6% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Portobello?
23% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (893 people), and 1% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Portobello?
53% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 46% were born abroad and 48% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Portobello?
40% are Catholic, 41% have no religion and 19% another religion; 33% didn’t say.
Is Portobello good for families?
11% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 16% of residents are under 18. Schools near Portobello are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Portobello?
Median gross household income in Portobello was €67,410 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).