Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2,336 people live in this town in Co. Galway. Unemployment stood at 5% of the labour force in 2022.
People here tend to be in good health: bad health runs at 45 and disability at 75 per 100 expected for its ages. Its weakest is cost of living (D): prices run to a median €455,000, 5 times local household income. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work. 6% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the typical Irish town: 23%).
Figures: health and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO. Bearna has subject grades but no overall grade: Irish towns get one from 2,500 residents.
This town's Hazard risk Grade uses radon and landslides only: open LiDAR heights don't cover enough of its homes to measure flooding, so flood isn't counted for or against it.
The 3 things Bearna does most differently from other towns.
Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Irish towns →
The record adds 9 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 2%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bearna.
Asked at the census, 94% of residents of Bearna said they were in good or very good health. 7.1% of residents give unpaid care to a relative or friend, above Co. Galway’s towns (5%) and Irish towns (5.4%) alike. At the census, 0.9% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. Also worth knowing: in the HSE West and North West health region, 34% of people hold a medical card.
| Census 2022 | Bearna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 7.1% | 5% | 5.4% |
| Good or very good health | 94% | 88% | 88% |
| With a disability | 17% | 22% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 0.9% | 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
72% of 15 to 64s were in work, above both Co. Galway’s towns (68%) and Irish towns (68%). At the census, 6.3% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train. Household income averages €90,881 a year before tax.
| Census 2022 | Bearna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €90,881 | €54,305 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.7% | 9.6% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 24% | 37% | 31% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 72% | 68% | 68% |
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.
Rent averaged €1,860 a month, higher than both Co. Galway’s towns (€1,331) and Irish towns (€1,606). Private renters make up 16% of households. Council and housing-body homes hold 1% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €455,000 | 65 |
| Second-hand homes | €455,000 | 94 |
| The last 12 months | €430,000 | 64 |
| Housing | Bearna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 80% | 52% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 1% | 10% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 16% | 36% | 22% |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,860 | €1,331 | €1,606 |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Violence accounts for 2.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. In all, 19.3 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded a year, below Co. Galway’s towns (78.6) and Irish towns (54.3) alike. Among the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Bearna has less crime per resident than 85% of them.
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 | Bearna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 2.5 | 6.5 | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 19.3 | 78.6 | 54.3 |
| Violent crime | 2.6 | 8.7 | 5.7 |
| Theft | 4.7 | 15.1 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Families in Bearna have 10 schools within 3 km to choose from: 7 primary schools and 3 secondary schools. For secondary school, the closest is Coláiste na Coiribe, 2.8 km from the town. Pupil numbers changed +5% since 2019/20, above both Co. Galway’s towns (+2%) and Irish towns (+4%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh Gaeltacht schoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 643 | Catholic |
| Coláiste Einde DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 808 | Catholic |
| Coláiste na Coiribe Gaeltacht schoolTeaches through IrishPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 711 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Bearna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 40% | 15% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 10% | 27% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +5% | +2% | +4% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 33% | 31% | 39% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · These schools carry no letter or result: Ireland doesn’t release them school by school.
The nearest bathing water to Bearna is Silverstrand Beach, 2 km away, rated excellent in 2025. 100% of its homes sit in high-radon areas, about level with Co. Galway’s towns (100%) and above Irish towns (0%). No part of Bearna is mapped as high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Bearna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 100% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Expect January lows of around 3.3°C in Bearna. Here July highs average 19.1°C, near Co. Galway’s towns (19.3°C) and lower than Irish towns (19.9°C). Taken over the whole year, the average temperature locally is 10.5°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Bearna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 19.1°C | 19.3°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,325 mm | 1,261 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 3.3°C | 3.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.5°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
45% of homes are within 400 m of green space, below both Co. Galway’s towns (80%) and Irish towns (92%). Among the protected sites near Bearna is Galway Bay Complex SAC. Green space in Bearna adds up to 24 ha, across 2 parks. The town has 10.3 ha of green space for every 1,000 residents.
| Outdoors | Bearna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 45% | 80% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 27% | 14% | 1.8% |
| Sea within 5 km | 47% | 21% | 0% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.7 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Long-term averages for Bearna put November days at 11°C and November nights at 5°C. It should stay dry today, with a fresh breeze of up to 25 km/h and a low near 5°C. Tuesday looks like the wettest of the days that follow, with about 3 mm of rain.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 392 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 251 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 12°C | 302 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 380 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
21% are under 15, above both Co. Galway’s towns (17%) and Irish towns (20%). People 65 and over make up 16% of the town. The 15-to-24 age group makes up 13% of residents.
Women make up 50.5% of Bearna
1,180 women and 1,156 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Bearna | Co. Galway | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 31% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 22% | 24% |
| 65+ | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 3.5% | 7.4% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 5.8% | 10% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 22% | 29% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.9% | 5.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 63% | 47% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Galway and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
One council serves Bearna: Galway County Council. No party holds a majority on Galway County Council: Fine Gael lead with 13 of 39 seats, short of the 20 needed.
| Turnout | Bearna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 68% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Bearna has 13 inventory buildings for every 10,000 residents. The Sites and Monuments Record lists 9 sites here, below Co. Galway’s towns (19) and Irish towns (11) alike. 1.6% of homes were built before 1919.
| Heritage | Bearna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 13 | 33 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 9 | 19 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Bearna. Best known first.
ZooGalway Atlantaquaria3.7 km outside town, to the eastGardenGardenCircle of Life National Organ Donor Commemorative Garden2.9 km outside town, to the eastTheme parkTheme parkCurry's Fun Park3.1 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 3 buildings in Bearna, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded 9 sites here.
2 notable people were born in Bearna; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Séamus Brennan: Flickr user "Justsplit.com", CC BY 2.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bearna | 2,336 | — | — | D | A | A+ |
| Knocknacarra | 18,398 | 3.5 | B+ | D | A | A− |
| Salthill | 5,445 | 5.3 | A | D | A | A |
| Taylor's Hill | 3,141 | 5.6 | C− | D | B | C |
| Rahoon | 3,486 | 5.7 | C+ | D | B | B− |
| Newcastle | 4,032 | 6.4 | D | D | C− | C+ |
| Dangan | 4,621 | 6.4 | D− | D | C− | C |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
9.6% of residents speak Irish every day outside school, against 1.1% in the median of Irish towns; 72% can speak it.
Bearna had 2,336 people at the 2022 census, up from 2,252 in 2016: 3.7% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Bearna is 42.4, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 21% of residents are under 15 and 16% are 65 or over.
Urban area in Co. Galway
2,336 people live in Bearna, in the area of Galway County Council. TownRatings uses the CSO’s 2022 Urban Areas as Ireland’s towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a county or a council area, so its figures cover the town itself.
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).