Photo: P L Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 6.8% of households live in a flat or apartment in Athenry
The median age in Athenry is 36.8, lower than in 61% of Irish towns. In Athenry, 47% of households are parents with children. Census day 2022: 4,603 residents and 1,696 households here. Set against 71% across Ireland’s towns, nearly three quarters of residents said they are Catholic here.
+5% since 2016, a pace below 65% 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 the median change is +8%; across Co. Galway’s towns, +7%.
In Athenry, 11% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 74% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 40–44 than any other five-year age: 11% of residents, 1.3 times the share across Ireland’s towns. Typically, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Athenry, 36.8. The typical town is 37.6.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Galway 51.6%, Ireland 51.2%.
Athenry sits above 62% of Irish towns for students among residents 15 and over (11%)
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
In Athenry, the professional, managerial and technical classes take in 44% of residents and the semi-skilled and unskilled classes 15%, against 34% and 15% across Ireland’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 6.8% in the town.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 3.1%, a lower share than 81% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Galway’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
A household here has 2.7 people on average; across Ireland’s towns, 2.7. As a reference point, 4.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Ireland’s towns. One-person households account for 25%.
Fewer households without a car or van than 77% of Irish towns: 9.6%
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
Holiday homes make up 0.8%, close to the figure across Ireland’s towns. Households without a car or van: 17% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison.
€60,710 a year: the median household income
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
At €60,710 a year before tax, the median household income is near that of Ireland (€60,120). Across Co. Galway the median is €59,640.
Residents born outside Ireland make up 24% in Athenry, more than in 56% 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 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.
20% speak another language at home, most often Polish (7.4%); 2.6% speak English not well or not at all. Across Ireland’s towns, 22% of residents were born outside Ireland. Little separates the share of residents with another country’s citizenship here, 15%, from the figure across Ireland’s towns.
2% of residents speak Irish daily outside education, a share 91% of Irish towns don’t reach
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
The ability to speak Irish extends to 1,869 residents (45% of those aged 3 and over). As a yardstick, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns. In Co. Galway, Knocknacarra has the highest share (4.5%).
Athenry sits below 62% of Irish towns for residents who describe themselves as White Irish (75%)
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: 75% of Athenry · Co. Galway’s towns 72% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White Irish are Other White (15%), Irish Traveller (3.4%) and Asian or Asian Irish (3.1%). Elsewhere, 78% of residents describe themselves as White Irish across Ireland’s towns. Residents with no religion make up 17%, close to the figure across Ireland’s towns.
35% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 54% of Irish towns don’t reach
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.
In Athenry, 5.5% of residents give unpaid care. 56% of the town’s residents 15 and over are single and 35% married, against 56% and 34% across Ireland’s towns.
Athenry ranks above 66% of Irish towns on adults with a degree or higher: 44%
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
17% of Athenry’s adults hold a postgraduate qualification, and 7.6% finished their education at primary level or earlier (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). The benchmark for adults with a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns: 36%.
41 towns of 3,970 to 5,319 people: this is the 16th youngest
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Ages run from 27.5 in Dangan to 46.5 in Montenotte. Nearest to Athenry in age: Tullow (36.2), Inchicore (36.8), Poleberry (36.9) and Carrick-On-Shannon (37.3).
Athenry sits below 1 of its 6 closest neighbours on median age
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athenry | 4,603 | — | 36.8 | 11% | 47% |
| Craughwell | 1,034 | 8.3 km | 35.6 | 7.3% | 54% |
| Oranmore | 5,819 | 12.7 km | 36.6 | 9.3% | 45% |
| Baile Chláir | 1,632 | 13.4 km | 34.6 | 5.6% | 54% |
| Ballybane | 15,082 | 16.1 km | 34.1 | 7.1% | 41% |
| Loughrea | 6,322 | 16.5 km | 37.9 | 14% | 39% |
| Murrough | 2,909 | 17.3 km | 32.8 | 12% | 33% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Galway’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Galway’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 Athenry’s residents
What is the population of Athenry?
Athenry had 4,603 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Athenry?
The median age is 36.8, younger than 61% of Irish towns. 29% are under 18 and 11% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Athenry?
45% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (1,869 people), and 2% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Athenry?
75% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 24% were born abroad and 15% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Athenry?
74% are Catholic, 17% have no religion and 8.6% another religion; 6.2% didn’t say.
Is Athenry good for families?
47% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 29% of residents are under 18. Schools near Athenry are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Athenry?
Median gross household income in Athenry was €60,710 in 2022, against €59,640 across Co. Galway 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).