Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0In Rathgar, 24% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 98% of Irish towns
In Rathgar, 30% of households are parents with children, beside 43% across Ireland’s towns. The neighbourhood is home to 5,768 residents in 1,991 households, by the 2022 Census. The census found that 31% of households are one person living alone locally. Compared with other places, households in flats are common here: 40%, more than in 89% of Irish towns.
What stands out about the people of Rathgar
A student neighbourhood
24% of residents aged 15 and over are students, more than in 98% of Irish towns; Ireland’s towns 10%. 24% of residents are 15 to 24. Social class & newcomers ↓
A neighbourhood people move to
22% of residents lived somewhere else a year before the Census, 3 times the share across Ireland’s towns; 8.8% came from abroad. Social class & newcomers ↓
Growing faster than most
Rathgar went from about 4,680 people in 2016 to 5,768 in 2022, +23%: faster growth than in 93% of Irish towns. Population change ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Rathgar’s residents are under 34.2 and half over; the typical median across Irish towns is 37.6. 24% are 15 to 24 and 18% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Growth of +23% since 2016 puts Rathgar ahead of 93% 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.
Medians for comparison: +8% across Ireland’s towns; +6% across Co. Dublin’s towns.
Half of Rathgar is under 34.2, younger than 87% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
No age band is larger than 15–19: 15% of residents, 2.4 times the share across Ireland’s towns. In Rathgar, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Rathgar, 34.2. The typical town is 37.6.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 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.
A student neighbourhood: 24% of residents 15 and over are students
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
With residents who moved in within the year at 22%, Rathgar is ahead of 99% of Irish towns on that count. As a yardstick, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
Rathgar households average 2.4 people, smaller than in 86% 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.
Across Ireland’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.7%; Rathgar has 7.4%.
Rathgar sits above 64% of Irish towns for households without a car or van (20%)
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
0.5% of homes are holiday homes, about the same as across Ireland’s towns. Every 5th household or so has no car or van.
Half above, half below €89,790 a year in household income
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Households here have a median gross income of €89,790, 49% higher than across Ireland (€60,120). For Co. Dublin, the figure is €71,120.
Rathgar ranks above 76% of Irish towns on residents born outside Ireland: 29%
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 35%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
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 with another country’s citizenship make up 19%, against 15% across Ireland’s towns. To put it in context, just over a fifth of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns. 18% speak a language other than English at home, Spanish most of all (2.4%); 1.4% speak English not well or not at all.
Irish speakers: 45% of Rathgar’s residents
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
Daily speakers of Irish outside education make up 1.3%, close to the figure across Ireland’s towns. In Co. Dublin, Monkstown has the highest share (2.5%). 2,399 residents, 45% of those aged 3 and over, can speak Irish.
Residents with no religion make up 28% in Rathgar, more than in 88% 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: 76% of Rathgar · Co. Dublin’s towns 78% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 71% across Ireland’s towns, 57% of residents said they are Catholic in Rathgar. Across the comparison, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns. Behind White Irish, the largest groups are Other White (13%), Asian or Asian Irish (5.2%) and Other, including mixed (3.4%).
A smaller share of married residents 15 and over than 72% of Irish towns: 32%
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.
Rathgar sits close to the norm on unpaid carers: 4.6%, about the same as across Ireland’s towns. Measured more widely, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Adults with a degree or higher: 72%, a higher share than 98% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
At the top, 36% of adults have a postgraduate qualification; at the other end, 2.7% finished at primary level or earlier, against 9.7% across Ireland’s towns. 35% of those 15 and over have not yet finished their education.
Of 41 towns its size (5,226 to 6,355 people), the 6th youngest
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Ages run from 25.6 in Gillabbey to 45.4 in Sutton. Nearest to Rathgar in age: Portobello (33.4), Inishkenny (33.6), Ballybeg (34.4) and Sallins (34.8).
Among its 6 nearest neighbours, 5 are older than Rathgar
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census neighbourhood.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathgar | 5,768 | — | 34.2 | 18% | 30% |
| Terenure | 10,391 | 1.4 km | 39.6 | 17% | 36% |
| Rathmines West | 22,667 | 1.4 km | 34.3 | 10% | 19% |
| Churchtown | 10,044 | 1.6 km | 40.5 | 19% | 42% |
| Rathmines East | 16,923 | 1.7 km | 36.1 | 14% | 24% |
| Clonskeagh | 14,142 | 2.3 km | 29.4 | 12% | 32% |
| Rathfarnham | 17,508 | 2.4 km | 43.3 | 22% | 42% |
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 Rathgar’s residents
What is the population of Rathgar?
Rathgar had 5,768 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its neighbourhood, 23% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Rathgar?
The median age is 34.2, younger than 87% of Irish towns. 15% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Rathgar?
45% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (2,399 people), and 1.3% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Rathgar?
76% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 29% were born abroad and 19% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Rathgar?
57% are Catholic, 28% have no religion and 15% another religion; 6.4% didn’t say.
Is Rathgar good for families?
30% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 15% of residents are under 18. Schools near Rathgar are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Rathgar?
Median gross household income in Rathgar was €89,790 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).