Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public transport, bikes and feet take 40% of commuters to work. Population 1,259: a town in Co. Galway.
Clifden’s strongest is cost of living (A): set against the median household income, the median home, at €240,000, costs 5.9 times as much. Health lags: for every 100 its ages would predict, 185 residents are in bad health and 114 have a disability. It lags on hazard risk as well — an estimated 0.9% of its homes exceed the radon reference level. 20 of its buildings are on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · health, CSO Census 2022 · radon, EPA. An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Irish towns; Clifden has its subject grades alone.
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 Clifden does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Clifden 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 →
11 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Clifden.
Home ownership stands at 48% of households. 28% rent privately, between Co. Galway’s towns (36%) and Irish towns (22%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €240,000 | 113 |
| The last 12 months | €285,000 | 39 |
| Housing | Clifden | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 22% | 10% | 13% |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €959 | €1,331 | €1,606 |
| Median sale price | €240K | €373K | €350K |
| Households owning their home | 48% | 52% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Weighed against its ages, disability in Clifden runs at 114 per 100 expected. At the census, 4.2% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above Co. Galway’s towns (1.9%) and Irish towns (2%) alike. Disability touches 27% of the town’s population. Also worth knowing: in the HSE West and North West health region, 34% of people hold a medical card.
| Census 2022 | Clifden | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 88% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 1.9% | 2% |
| With a disability | 27% | 22% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.1% | 5% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Clifden’s nearest bathing water is Aillebrack/Silverhill Beach, 12 km away, rated excellent in 2025. On high landslide susceptibility: 1.8% of homes, above Co. Galway’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%) alike. Radon is rarely a worry in the town: under 1% of homes are estimated above the reference level.
| Share of homes | Clifden | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 1.8% | 0% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 23% | 4.3% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 100% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Burglary and damage come to 4.2 per 1,000 residents a year. Of the graded crimes in Clifden, assaults and harassment came up most often (2023–2025). Violent crime ran at 8.5 per 1,000 residents a year, about level with Co. Galway’s towns (8.7) and above Irish towns (5.7).
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 | Clifden | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 4.2 | 6.5 | 6.4 |
| Theft | 7.2 | 15.1 | 15.3 |
| All recorded crime | 54 | 78.6 | 54.3 |
| Violent crime | 8.5 | 8.7 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Pupil numbers changed +11% since 2019/20, above both Co. Galway’s towns (+2%) and Irish towns (+4%). The nearest secondary, Scoil Phobail, is 1.2 km away. 2 schools lie within 3 km of Clifden: 1 primary school and 1 secondary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 241 | Catholic |
| Scoil Phobail DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 489 | Inter-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Clifden | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 100% | 27% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 15% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 31% | 39% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +11% | +2% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No school here carries a letter or a result: Ireland publishes neither for individual schools.
Across the year, Clifden averages 10.5°C. A year brings 1,523 mm of rain, above both Co. Galway’s towns (1,261 mm) and Irish towns (937 mm). January nights in Clifden drop to 4.2°C on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Clifden | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 17.7°C | 19.3°C | 19.9°C |
| January low | 4.2°C | 3.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,523 mm | 1,261 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.5°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
76% of homes are within 400 m of green space, near Co. Galway’s towns (80%) and lower than Irish towns (92%). Protected nature near Clifden includes The Twelve Bens/Garraun Complex SAC. Green space in Clifden works out at 1.9 ha per 1,000 people.
| Outdoors | Clifden | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 30% | 14% | 1.8% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 6.8% | 1.8% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.2 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Near a park | 76% | 80% | 92% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
The forecast for Clifden beside its normal weather: a typical November day reaches 11°C and drops to 6°C at night. Today stays dry but breezy, with wind up to 25 km/h and a low of 6°C. Over the coming week, 5 of 6 days look dry.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 4°C | 445 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 291 mm |
| Summer | 17°C | 12°C | 339 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 9°C | 449 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
29% of adults hold a degree, lower than both Co. Galway’s towns (47%) and Irish towns (36%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for nearly a tenth of the town. Under 15: 17% of residents.
53.5% of Clifden’s residents are women
674 women and 585 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Clifden | Co. Galway | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 31% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 22% | 24% |
| 65+ | 23% | 12% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 12% | 7.4% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 15% | 10% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 36% | 29% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7.7% | 5.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 29% | 47% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Galway and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Fine Gael lead Galway County Council with 13 of 39 seats, but no party has a majority: 20 are needed. Clifden is run by Galway County Council, its only council: Ireland has one tier of local government. It sits in the Conamara North local electoral area, which elects 4 councillors.
| Turnout | Clifden | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 41% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
9.4% of its homes were built before 1919, higher than both Co. Galway’s towns (1.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%). The archaeological record lists 11 sites here.
| Heritage | Clifden | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 159 | 33 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 9.4% | 1.7% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
The car carried nearly half of commuters at the census. Commutes averaged 18.4 min, below Co. Galway’s towns (23.8 min) and Irish towns (27.6 min) alike. The jobless rate is 12%.
| Census 2022 | Clifden | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 70% | 37% | 31% |
| Average trip | 18.4 min | 23.8 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €40,900 | €54,305 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 12% | 9.6% | 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.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Clifden. Best known first.
20 of Clifden’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 11 archaeological sites in and around the town.
5 notable people were born in Clifden.
The median age in Clifden is 44.3, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Clifden had 1,259 people at the 2022 census, down from 1,320 in 2016: 4.6% fewer, while the median of Irish towns grew 7.6%.
Urban area in Co. Galway
1,259 people live in Clifden, 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).