Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,690 in Co. Galway.
Housing is within reach: buying the median home, at €172,500, takes 4.2 times the town’s median household income. Jobs & income is its weak spot — jobs reach 63% of 15 to 64s, and unemployment is 13%. Safety is weaker too — 4 burglaries and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, and 7.8 violent crimes. It lags on walkability as well. 15% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the typical Irish town: 23%).
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · work and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025. With fewer than 2,500 residents, Portumna gets subject grades but no overall one among Irish towns.
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 Portumna does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Portumna 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 →
8 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
8% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Portumna.
32% rent privately, between Co. Galway’s towns (36%) and Irish towns (22%). The owner-occupied share of households is 53%. Social renters account for 13% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €175,000 | 80 |
| Housing | Portumna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €173K | €373K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,052 | €1,331 | €1,606 |
| Households renting privately | 32% | 36% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 53% | 52% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
A household here earns €40,968 a year before tax, on average. Unemployment stood at 13%, higher than both Co. Galway’s towns (9.6%) and Irish towns (9.2%). Getting to work takes 28.2 min on average.
| Census 2022 | Portumna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 53% | 37% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 13% | 9.6% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €40,968 | €54,305 | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 63% | 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.
7.5% of homes stand low near a river, above Co. Galway’s towns (4.3%) and Irish towns (0.5%) alike. Portumna’s nearest bathing water is Bathing Place at Portumna, 1.3 km away, rated excellent in 2025. Under 1% of homes locally are estimated to have radon above the reference level.
| Share of homes | Portumna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 7.5% | 4.3% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Among the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Portumna has more crime per resident than 90% of them. Every kind together came to 45.5 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Co. Galway’s towns (78.6) and Irish towns (54.3). Assaults and harassment topped the graded crimes in Portumna (2023–2025).
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 | Portumna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 4 | 6.5 | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 45.5 | 78.6 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 7 | 15.1 | 15.3 |
| Violent crime | 7.8 | 8.7 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Expect July highs of around 19.8°C in Portumna. A year brings 930 mm of rain, lower than Co. Galway’s towns (1,261 mm) and near Irish towns (937 mm). The mean temperature over a year locally is 10.1°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Portumna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.3°C | 3.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 930 mm | 1,261 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 19.8°C | 19.3°C | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.1°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Green space in Portumna adds up to 8 ha, in one park. Protected nature near Portumna includes Middle Shannon Callows SPA. 81% of homes are within 400 m of green space, near Co. Galway’s towns (80%) and lower than Irish towns (92%).
| Outdoors | Portumna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 13% | 1.8% | 2.7% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 13% | 14% | 1.8% |
| Sea within 5 km | 0% | 21% | 0% |
| Paths per km² of town | 1.0 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.
The heaviest rain of the week is due on Wednesday, around 8 mm. In a typical November, days climb to about 11°C and nights sink to 4°C, the yardstick for Portumna’s forecast. Tomorrow stays dry, with only a light wind of up to 9 km/h and a low of 3°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 265 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 185 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 221 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 259 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Young adults of 15 to 24 are just over a tenth of the population. 19% are under 15, about level with Irish towns (20%) and above Co. Galway’s towns (17%). Graduates make up 30% of adults.
51.4% of Portumna’s residents are women
868 women and 822 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Portumna | Co. Galway | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 31% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 22% | 24% |
| 65+ | 21% | 12% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 15% | 7.4% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 15% | 10% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 34% | 29% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.9% | 5.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 30% | 47% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Galway and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
General election turnout was 62%. Portumna is run by Galway County Council, its only council: Ireland has one tier of local government. With 13 of 39 seats, Fine Gael are the largest group on Galway County Council, short of the 20 a majority needs.
| Turnout | Portumna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 52% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 62% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Nearly one in ten homes date from before 1919. Its archaeology runs to 8 recorded sites. Portumna’s built heritage counts 43 inventory entries, each of regional standing.
| Heritage | Portumna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 254 | 33 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 8.4% | 1.7% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 8 | 19 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
At the census, 27% of people here had a disability, above both Co. Galway’s towns (22%) and Irish towns (22%). Unpaid caring falls to 6.1% of Portumna’s residents. In the HSE West and North West health region, just over a third of people hold a medical card. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 2.5% of the town.
| Census 2022 | Portumna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 88% | 88% |
| With a disability | 27% | 22% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 6.1% | 5% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.5% | 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
DEIS, the support scheme, covers 50% of them, above Co. Galway’s towns (27%) and Irish towns (35%) alike. Within 3 km of Portumna there are 2 schools (1 primary school and 1 secondary school). Portumna Community School is the nearest secondary school, 0.2 km away.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Brendans N.S. DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 235 | Catholic |
| Portumna Community SchoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 506 | Inter-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Portumna | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 15% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 31% | 39% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +11% | +2% | +4% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 50% | 27% | 35% |
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 Portumna. Best known first.
Castle · Office of Public WorksPortumna Castle and Gardens200 m outside town, to the southCastleCastleTerryglass Castle3.1 km outside town, to the southAbbey or prioryAbbey or prioryPortumna Friary200 m outside town, to the southCastleCastleDerryhiveny Castle3.3 km outside town, to the northeastAbbey or prioryAbbey or prioryDominican Abbey Lorrha4.7 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Portumna’s built heritage counts 43 inventory entries, each of regional standing. 8 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
7 notable people were born in Portumna.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portumna | 1,690 | — | — | A+ | C+ | C+ |
| Borrisokane Tipperary | 1,117 | 12 | — | A | A+ | C− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Portumna had 1,690 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,533 in 2016: 10.2% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Portumna is 41.3, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Galway
1,690 people live in Portumna, 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).