Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
35% of people here were born outside Ireland. This neighbourhood in Galway has a population of 4,315.
A tough set of grades. At a median €331,000, a home costs 6.3 times the town’s median household income. Overall, Castlegar earns a D−, better than 4% of Irish towns. In the ranking it comes #19 of 20 in Co. Galway. Residents’ health trails most towns (D): bad health runs at 160 and disability at 117 per 100 expected for its ages. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for jobs & income and B− for walkability.
Figures: health, work and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO.
Crime here is counted against the people who live here, but much of it involves people who come in to work, shop or go out, so the rate per resident runs higher than residents' own risk. Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level.
The 3 things Castlegar does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Castlegar 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 record adds 11 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 0%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Castlegar. Best known first.
CathedralGalway Cathedral1.4 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumGalway City Museum1.7 km outside town, to the southwest · 162K visitors a year (2011)
GardenEyre Square1.1 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleMerlinpark Castle1.9 km outside town, to the southeast
CastleLynch's Castle1.4 km outside town, to the southwest
ZooGalway Atlantaquaria3.4 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Castlegar.
Unpaid carers make up 3.9% of residents, lower than both Co. Galway’s towns (5.1%) and Irish towns (5.4%). Asked at the census, 86% of residents of Castlegar said they were in good or very good health. In the HSE West and North West health region, just over a third of people hold a medical card. 2.4% of residents report bad or very bad health.
| Census 2022 | Castlegar | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 3.9% | 5.1% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.4% | 1.8% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 86% | 88% | 88% |
| With a disability | 23% | 22% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Castlegar’s nearest bathing water is Ballyloughane Beach, 3.2 km away, rated good in 2025. Radon: 100% of homes are in high-radon areas, close to Co. Galway’s towns (100%) and above Irish towns (0%).
| Share of homes | Castlegar | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 100% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0.4% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
For its size, Castlegar records more crime per resident than 78% of the 201 Irish towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Every year, 97.3 crimes are recorded per 1,000 residents. Add to that, homes saw 7.2 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both Co. Galway’s towns (5.8) and Irish towns (6.4). In 2023–2025, assaults and harassment led the graded crimes in the town.
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 | Castlegar | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 11.1 | 7.9 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 97.3 | 67.8 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 28.3 | 11.7 | 15.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 7.2 | 5.8 | 6.4 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
22% of households live in social housing. Private renters make up 43% of households, above Co. Galway’s towns (35%) and Irish towns (22%) alike.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €331,000 | 30 |
| Housing | Castlegar | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 34% | 52% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 43% | 35% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 22% | 10% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €331K | €373K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
29% of the secondaries are single-sex, below both Co. Galway’s towns (33%) and Irish towns (39%). Galway Community College is the nearest secondary school, 1.3 km away. The 32 schools within 3 km of Castlegar have 9,971 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Iognaid GaelscoilLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 480 | Catholic |
| St Joseph's College BoysLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 791 | Catholic |
| Gaelscoil Dara GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 419 | Catholic |
| Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 710 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Castlegar | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 13% | 15% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 29% | 33% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 34% | 25% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +2% | +2% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · You won’t find letters or results below: Ireland publishes none for single schools.
Castlegar gets 1,265 mm of rain a year. Here July highs average 19.2°C, near Co. Galway’s towns (19.3°C) and lower than Irish towns (19.9°C). December is the wettest month in the town, with 144 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Castlegar | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 19.2°C | 19.3°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,265 mm | 1,257 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
One park and 36 ha of green space in all: that is Castlegar’s share. Protected sites cover 16% of the land within 5 km, above both Co. Galway’s towns (14%) and Irish towns (1.8%). Among the protected sites near Castlegar is Galway Bay Complex SAC.
| Outdoors | Castlegar | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 16% | 14% | 1.8% |
| Near a park | 64% | 81% | 92% |
| Sea within 5 km | 16% | 21% | 0% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 1.4% | 2% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
In Castlegar, the November norm is a high of 11°C and a low of 5°C. It should stay dry today, with a fresh breeze of up to 22 km/h and a low near 5°C. Rain peaks later in the week on Tuesday, at about 3 mm for the day.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 370 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 245 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 289 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 361 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
The 15-to-24 age group: 15%, above Co. Galway’s towns (14%) and Irish towns (12%) alike. 16% of residents are children under 15. Those 65 and older account for 10% of residents.
Women make up 51.2% of Castlegar
2,209 women and 2,106 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Castlegar | Co. Galway | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 15% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 40% | 31% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 19% | 22% | 24% |
| 65+ | 10% | 13% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 6.6% | 7.4% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 10% | 10% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 36% | 28% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.4% | 5.4% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 41% | 49% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Galway and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
With 4 of 18 seats, Independent are the largest group on Galway City Council, short of the 10 a majority needs. There is just one council for Castlegar, Galway City Council: Ireland has only one tier of local government. In the Dáil, Castlegar is part of Galway West, which elects 5 TDs.
| Turnout | Castlegar | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 45% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
0.4% of its homes were built before 1919, below both Co. Galway’s towns (2.5%) and Irish towns (3.4%). Scaled to its population, that is 5 inventory buildings for every 10,000 people in Castlegar. The ground here holds 11 recorded archaeological sites.
| Heritage | Castlegar | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 5 | 51 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 0.4% | 2.5% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
The census counted 9.9% of workers working mainly from home. 59% of commuters drove, about level with Co. Galway’s towns (62%) and below Irish towns (66%). A trip to work takes 24.8 min on average.
| Census 2022 | Castlegar | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 29% | 37% | 31% |
| Average trip | 24.8 min | 23.5 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €52,560 | €55,250 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 9.8% | 9.4% | 9.2% |
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.
The national inventory of architectural heritage lists 2 buildings in Castlegar, each rated of regional importance. 11 archaeological sites are on the record here.
6 notable people were born in Castlegar.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlegar | 4,315 | — | D− | C− | C− | D |
| Ballinfoile and Terryland | 5,851 | 1.1 | D | D | C− | B− |
| Mervue | 4,126 | 1.7 | C | C+ | C− | C− |
| Eyre Square | 6,801 | 2.5 | C | D | C− | B+ |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island | 4,948 | 2.5 | C− | D | C− | B− |
| Murrough | 2,909 | 3.1 | C+ | C+ | C− | B+ |
| Dangan | 4,621 | 3.1 | D− | D | C− | C |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
10% mostly work from home, and 29% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
2.3% of residents speak Irish every day outside school, against 1.1% in the median of Irish towns; 37% can speak it.
Castlegar had 4,315 people at the 2022 census, up from 4,053 in 2016: 6.5% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Castlegar is 33.1, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Neighbourhood in Galway
Castlegar has 4,315 people, in the area of Galway City Council. TownRatings splits Galway 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).