Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 1,235 people, this town lies in Co. Galway. Between 2016 and 2022, its population grew by 22%.
Headford’s best grade is for safety: violent crime runs at 1.9 per 1,000 residents a year, burglary and criminal damage at 2.1. Homes sell for a median €323,500, about 5.5 times what a household here earns in a year. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: nearly one in ten commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train, against 23% in the typical Irish town. The rest of its grades are middling: B for health and B for jobs & income.
Figures: crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · commuting, health and work, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO. Headford has subject grades but no overall grade: Irish towns get one from 2,500 residents.
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 Headford does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Headford 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 9 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 6%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Headford.
Among the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Headford has less crime per resident than 94% of them. The commonest graded crime in the town was assaults and harassment (2023–2025). Theft, shown but not graded, ran at 4.4 per 1,000 a year, below both Co. Galway’s towns (15.1) and Irish towns (15.3).
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 | Headford | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 2.1 | 6.5 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 1.9 | 8.7 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 25.8 | 78.6 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 4.4 | 15.1 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
100% of its homes sit in high-radon areas, near Co. Galway’s towns (100%) and higher than Irish towns (0%). Landslides: none of Headford lies in a high-susceptibility zone. Few of its homes stand low beside water.
| Share of homes | Headford | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 100% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 4.3% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
75% of commuters drove, higher than both Co. Galway’s towns (60%) and Irish towns (66%). Employment among 15- to 64-year-olds stood at 71% at the census. Workers spend 27.6 min getting to work, on average.
| Census 2022 | Headford | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 71% | 68% | 68% |
| Average trip | 27.6 min | 23.8 min | 27.6 min |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 33% | 37% | 31% |
| Median household income | €58,770 | €54,305 | €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.
For its ages, Headford has 102 people in bad health for every 100 expected, below both Co. Galway’s towns (110) and Irish towns (113). 90% of people in Headford rate their own health good or very good. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 1.8% of the town.
| Census 2022 | Headford | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 6.4% | 5% | 5.4% |
| Good or very good health | 90% | 88% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.8% | 1.9% | 2% |
| With a disability | 22% | 22% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
7% live in social housing, below both Co. Galway’s towns (10%) and Irish towns (13%). Private renters make up 23% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €340,900 | 38 |
| Second-hand homes | €290,000 | 89 |
| The last 12 months | €415,000 | 75 |
| Housing | Headford | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 68% | 52% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 7% | 10% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 23% | 36% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €324K | €373K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Here July highs average 19.4°C, near Co. Galway’s towns (19.3°C) and lower than Irish towns (19.9°C). January nights in Headford drop to 2.7°C on average. Across the year, Headford averages 10.2°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Headford | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 19.4°C | 19.3°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,258 mm | 1,261 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 2.7°C | 3.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.2°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Protected nature near Headford includes Lough Corrib SAC. Within 5 km, 3.4% of the land is protected nature, below Co. Galway’s towns (14%) but above Irish towns (1.8%).
| Outdoors | Headford | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 3.4% | 14% | 1.8% |
| Near a park | 100% | 80% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.0 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Sea within 5 km | 0% | 21% | 0% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Over the coming week, Tuesday looks wettest, with about 4 mm of rain. Headford’s November pattern is steady: afternoons average 11°C, nights 5°C. A passing shower is possible today, but barely measurable; the breeze reaches 22 km/h, and the low is 5°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 384 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 246 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 271 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 356 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
38% of adults hold a degree, lower than Co. Galway’s towns (47%) yet higher than Irish towns (36%). Children under 15 count for 23% of the people here. Foreign-born residents make up 21% of the population.
Women make up 51.8% of Headford
640 women and 595 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Headford | Co. Galway | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 23% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 32% | 31% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 22% | 24% |
| 65+ | 13% | 12% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 8.6% | 7.4% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 10% | 10% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 37% | 29% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.1% | 5.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 38% | 47% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Galway and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
General election turnout: 62%, above Co. Galway’s towns (58%) and Irish towns (59%) alike. Galway County Council runs Headford: Ireland has one tier of local government, with no town council below it. In the Dáil, Headford is part of Galway East, which elects 4 TDs.
| Turnout | Headford | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 57% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 62% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Scaled to its population, that is 40 inventory buildings for every 10,000 people in Headford. 6.3% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Co. Galway’s towns (1.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%). Archaeologists have recorded 9 sites here.
| Heritage | Headford | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1919 | 6.3% | 1.7% | 3.4% |
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 40 | 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
Presentation College is the nearest secondary school, 0.8 km away. Families in Headford have 4 schools within 3 km to choose from: 3 primary schools and 1 secondary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headford Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 137 | Catholic |
| Presentation CollegeLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 857 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Headford | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 15% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 31% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 27% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +8% | +2% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland publishes no results school by school, so these cards carry no letters or results.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Headford. Best known first.
Abbey or prioryRoss Errilly Abbey1.4 km outside town, to the northwest
CastleKinlough Castle2.5 km outside town, to the north
CastleShrule Castle4.1 km outside town, to the northHistoric siteHistoric siteKilcoona Round Tower4.9 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 5 buildings in Headford, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded 9 sites here.
No notable person born in Headford is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair: ClintMalpaso, Public domain · Rory O'Neill: catherinecronin, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rory Gaffney: Mattythewhite, CC BY-SA 4.0 · John King: US Naval History & Heritage Command, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headford | 1,235 | — | — | B | A+ | B |
| Oughterard | 1,846 | 15 | — | B+ | A+ | B− |
| Maigh Cuilinn | 2,279 | 16 | — | C | A+ | A− |
| Tuam | 9,647 | 17 | C | A− | C+ | C |
| Baile Chláir | 1,632 | 18 | — | C− | A+ | A+ |
| Ballinrobe Mayo | 3,148 | 19 | B+ | A | B | B− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Headford had 1,235 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,014 in 2016: 21.8% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
15% mostly work from home, and 33% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
The median age in Headford is 38.2, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Galway
1,235 people live in Headford, 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).