Photo: Maj Adev · CC BY-SA 2.0Portrane is older than 99% of Irish towns: a median age of 46
In Portrane, 5.2% of homes are holiday homes, beside 0.2% across Ireland’s towns. 91% of residents describe themselves as White Irish. Few places have so few households of parents with children: 41% here, fewer than in just over three fifths of Irish towns. This Co. Dublin town counted 1,262 residents and 463 households at the 2022 Census.
What stands out about the people of Portrane
Older than most towns
Half of Portrane’s residents are under 46 and half over; the typical median across Irish towns is 37.6. 21% are 65 or over, against 14% across Ireland’s towns. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Portrane went from about 1,010 people in 2016 to 1,262 in 2022, +25%: faster growth than in 94% of Irish towns. Population change ↓
Many carers
About 100 residents (8.1%) give regular unpaid care, more than in 99% of Irish towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
+25% since 2016, a pace 94% of Irish towns didn’t match
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.
The median across Ireland’s towns is +8%, and across Co. Dublin’s towns +6%.
21% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 92% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 8.8% of residents, 1.6 times the share across Ireland’s towns. Locally, 13% of residents are aged 15 to 24. To put it in context, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Dublin 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 3.4%, a lower share than 97% 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 8.3% is typical, caring, leisure and other services take in 16% of workers. As a reference point, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Ireland’s towns. Census figures put students among residents 15 and over at 11% in Portrane.
In Portrane, 25% of households are one person living alone, more than in 55% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 3.9%, close to the figure across Ireland’s towns. Households here average 2.7 people each. Measured more widely, 24% of households are one person living alone across Ireland’s towns.
Below 95% of Irish towns: 3.2% of households live in a flat or apartment
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
Connected households: 88% on broadband; 8.9% offline (typical: 7.6%). Here, 14% of households have no car or van. The benchmark for households in flats across Ireland’s towns: 12%.
Households here have a median income of €89,010 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Before tax, the middle household here has €89,010 a year, 48% more than the Ireland median (€60,120). Co. Dublin comes in at €71,120 at the median.
Fewer residents born outside Ireland than 96% of Irish towns: 12%
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.
5.5% of residents are citizens of another country, against 15% across Ireland’s towns. Residents born outside Ireland: 22% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the UK (4.8%) and outside the EU and UK (4.1%).
0.7% of residents speak Irish daily outside education, below 82% of Irish towns
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%. Across Ireland’s towns, the share of daily speakers of Irish outside education is 1.1%.
Portrane sits above 69% of Irish towns for residents who said they are Catholic (74%)
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: 91% of Portrane · Co. Dublin’s towns 78% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
In Portrane, 19% of residents said they have no religion, beside 17% across Ireland’s towns. Beyond White Irish, the biggest groups are Other White (4.8%), Asian or Asian Irish (2.2%) and Other, including mixed (1%). Across Ireland’s towns, residents who said they are Catholic come to 71%.
Portrane: 8.1% of residents give unpaid care, above 99% 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.
34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns, against 36% in Portrane. Unpaid carers make up 5.4% across Ireland’s towns.
Portrane ranks below 70% of Irish towns on adults with a degree or higher: 28%
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, one in ten adults finished at primary level or earlier; in Portrane, 15%, and 10% hold a postgraduate qualification. The share of adults with a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns is 36%.
The towns around Portrane are all younger
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrane | 1,262 | — | 46 | 21% | 41% |
| Donabate | 9,669 | 2.5 km | 35.6 | 5.6% | 59% |
| Rush | 10,875 | 3.3 km | 37.1 | 11% | 56% |
| Lusk | 8,806 | 4.6 km | 35.3 | 6.6% | 59% |
| Malahide | 18,608 | 6.8 km | 42 | 17% | 48% |
| Portmarnock | 10,750 | 8.0 km | 41.2 | 21% | 45% |
| Kinsealy-Drinan | 7,526 | 8.5 km | 34.4 | 3.9% | 53% |
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.
Questions about Portrane’s residents
What is the population of Portrane?
Portrane had 1,262 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 25% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Portrane?
The median age is 46. 20% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Portrane?
34% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (414 people), and 0.7% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Portrane?
91% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 12% were born abroad and 5.5% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Portrane?
74% are Catholic, 19% have no religion and 6.7% another religion; 2.1% didn’t say.
Is Portrane good for families?
41% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 20% of residents are under 18. Schools near Portrane are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Portrane?
Median gross household income in Portrane was €89,010 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. 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).