Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
22,667 people call this neighbourhood in Dublin home.
One weak subject stands out against an otherwise good record. Health is a strength (A): 83 residents in bad health and 91 with a disability for every 100 its ages predict. It is easy to get around without a car: on the way to work, 60% walk, cycle or take the bus or train, where the typical Irish town has 23%. What counts against it is cost of living — at a median €723,500, a home costs 10.4 times the town’s median household income. Put together, the subjects come to an A overall, better than 87% of Irish towns. Its place in the ranking is #13 of 116 in Co. Dublin.
Figures: health and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO.
The 3 things Rathmines West does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Rathmines West 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 36 buildings on the National Inventory in Rathmines West.
3 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Rathmines West. Best known first.
CathedralSt Patrick's Cathedral1.1 km outside town, to the north
Big drawMuseumNational Museum of Ireland1.1 km outside town, to the northeast · 783K visitors a year
MuseumNational Library of Ireland1.2 km outside town, to the northeast
Historic houseLeinster House1.2 km outside town, to the northeast
Garden · Office of Public WorksSaint Stephen's Green800 m outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Rathmines West.
19% of residents in Rathmines West live with a disability. At the census, 1.3% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, below Co. Dublin’s towns (1.9%) and Irish towns (2%) alike. Self-reported good health: 92% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Rathmines West | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 4% | 5.3% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 92% | 89% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.3% | 1.9% | 2% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Short trips: 16% under 15 minutes, below Co. Dublin’s towns (23%) and Irish towns (31%) alike. 6.5% of people in the labour force have no job. The census counted 17% of workers working mainly from home.
| Census 2022 | Rathmines West | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 78% | 71% | 68% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 16% | 23% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.5% | 7.4% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €69,590 | €72,780 | €57,760 |
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.
Pupil numbers changed +7% since 2019/20, above both Co. Dublin’s towns (+4%) and Irish towns (+4%). Multi-denominational schooling: 19 of the 136 schools.
| 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 |
| Gaelscoil na Fuinseoige GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 441 | Multi-denominational |
| Larkin Community College DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 403 | Inter-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Rathmines West | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +7% | +4% | +4% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 46% | 40% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 7% | 7% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
Owners make up a third of households, lower than both Co. Dublin’s towns (66%) and Irish towns (61%). Council and housing-body homes hold 5% of households. Prices in Rathmines West have trailed Irish towns since 2010: the typical sale is up 51%, to €745K in 2025, against 77%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €721,000 | 342 |
| The last 12 months | €935,000 | 118 |
| Housing | Rathmines West | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €724K | €450K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 61% | 19% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 33% | 66% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 5% | 10% | 13% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
The EPA estimates that 3.8% of homes in Rathmines West are above the radon reference level. The town’s nearest bathing water is Sandymount Strand, 4.3 km away, rated sufficient in 2025. Landslides: none of Rathmines West lies in a high-susceptibility zone.
| Share of homes | Rathmines West | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 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.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more incidents per resident: they are counted where they happen, not where victims live.
Damage to property topped the graded crimes in Rathmines West (2023–2025). Theft, shown but not graded, ran at 26.1 per 1,000 a year, higher than both Co. Dublin’s towns (18.5) and Irish towns (15.3). Violence comes to 4.5 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 | Rathmines West | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theft | 26.1 | 18.5 | 15.3 |
| Violent crime | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Across the year it averages 10.4°C, about level with both Co. Dublin’s towns (10.3°C) and Irish towns (10.3°C). November is the wettest month in Rathmines West, with 87 mm of rain on average. Winter lows in Rathmines West average 3.0°C in January.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Rathmines West | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rain a year | 772 mm | 770 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 20.0°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.4°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 3.0°C | 2.9°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Across its 13 parks, Rathmines West has 31 ha of green space. The sea makes up 5.8% of the area within 5 km, above both Co. Dublin’s towns (3.7%) and Irish towns (0%). Green space comes to 1.4 ha for every 1,000 people here.
| Outdoors | Rathmines West | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paths per km² of town | 6.0 km per km² | 5.4 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Sea within 5 km | 5.8% | 3.7% | 0% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 1.7% | 2.3% | 2.7% |
| Green space per 1,000 residents | 1.4 ha | 7.6 ha | 4.1 ha |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Expect little more than a sprinkle tomorrow, calm air (up to 12 km/h) and a low of 6°C. The heaviest rain of the week is due on Wednesday, around 5 mm. Rathmines West’s forecast, set beside its normal weather: in November a typical day reaches 11°C, and nights drop to 5°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 195 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 163 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 12°C | 187 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 227 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Foreign-born residents make up nearly two fifths of the population. Children under 15 make up 11%, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (17%) and Irish towns (20%). Add to that, people 65 and over make up 10% of the town.
51.3% of Rathmines West’s residents are women
11,618 women and 11,049 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Rathmines West | Co. Dublin | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 47% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 20% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 10% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 3.1% | 8.5% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 3.7% | 11% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 16% | 30% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.3% | 5.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 73% | 44% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Dublin and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Rathmines West spans more than one of the local electoral areas: 83% of its residents vote in Kimmage-Rathmines, most of the rest in Pembroke. Local elections drew two in five voters to the polls last time. Dublin City Council has no ruling majority: Fine Gael hold 11 of its 63 seats, short of the 32 needed.
| Turnout | Rathmines West | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 48% | 57% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 40% | 42% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Per 10,000 residents, Rathmines West counts 16 inventory buildings, above Co. Dublin’s towns (9) but below Irish towns (48). The archaeological record lists 3 sites here. 36 of Rathmines West’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
| Heritage | Rathmines West | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1919 | 45.6% | 1.2% | 3.4% |
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 16 | 9 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 3 | 7 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
36 of Rathmines West’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 3 archaeological sites in and around the town.
18 notable people were born in Rathmines West.
Paddy Finucane: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Darrell Figgis: Photo by Claude Harris, Public domain · Máire Ní Chinnéide: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Sidney Czira: CeltBrowne, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Caitríona Perry: catherinecronin, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Muriel MacDonagh: Unknown, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathmines West | 22,667 | — | A | C | C+ | A |
| Portobello | 5,732 | 1.3 | C+ | C− | D− | B+ |
| Rathmines East | 16,923 | 1.3 | B+ | D | C+ | A+ |
| Rathgar | 5,768 | 1.4 | B | C− | B− | A− |
| Terenure | 10,391 | 1.5 | A+ | D | B+ | A |
| Christchurch | 6,778 | 1.6 | C+ | B | D− | C+ |
| The Liberties | 18,460 | 2 | C− | C+ | D− | C |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Rathmines West had 22,667 people at the 2022 census, up from 21,210 in 2016: 6.9% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Rathmines West is 34.3, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Neighbourhood in Dublin
22,667 people live in Rathmines West, 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).