Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage lists 56 of its buildings. This town in Co. Galway has a population of 9,647.
Tuam grades C overall, better than just over a third of Irish towns, and ranks #210 of 320 Irish towns. Its weakest subject is jobs & income — among 15 to 64s, 63% are in work; unemployment stands at 13%. It lags on health as well — for every 100 its ages would predict, 162 residents are in bad health and 107 have a disability. Natural hazards weigh more here (C−): an estimated 23% of homes are above the radon reference level. Buying a home costs less than in most towns: a median €230,000 buys a home here, 4.8 years of what the median household earns.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · work and health, CSO Census 2022 · radon, EPA.
The 3 things Tuam does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Tuam 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 →
56 buildings on the National Inventory inside Tuam, 2 of them of national importance.
The record adds 52 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 3%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Tuam.
Between 2010 and 2025 the typical sale price in Tuam rose 81%, to €271K, in step with Irish towns (77%). Private renters make up 29% of households, lower than Co. Galway’s towns (36%) yet higher than Irish towns (22%). Only one of the 20 towns in Co. Galway costs less to buy into than Tuam, whose median sale is €230,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €230,000 | 507 |
| The last 12 months | €290,000 | 157 |
| Housing | Tuam | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €230K | €373K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 29% | 36% | 22% |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,331 | €1,344 | €1,606 |
| Households in social housing | 14% | 10% | 13% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Radon: 100% of homes are in high-radon areas, close to Co. Galway’s towns (100%) and above Irish towns (0%). The ground under Tuam carries no high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Tuam | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 100% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 0.3% | 5% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
43% of trips took under 15 minutes, above Co. Galway’s towns (37%) and Irish towns (31%) alike. The commute to work averages 25.9 min. Home was the main workplace for 7% of workers at the census.
| Census 2022 | Tuam | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 13% | 9.4% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 63% | 68% | 68% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 43% | 37% | 31% |
| Median household income | €48,349 | €55,250 | €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.
86% of people in Tuam rate their own health good or very good. Weighed against its ages, disability in the town runs at 107 per 100 expected. Unpaid carers make up 5.3% of residents, above Co. Galway’s towns (4.9%) and close to Irish towns (5.4%).
| Census 2022 | Tuam | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 2.9% | 1.8% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 86% | 88% | 88% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.3% | 4.9% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Per 1,000 residents, 4.9 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded a year. The commonest graded crime in Tuam was assaults and harassment (2023–2025). Violence came to 7.2 per 1,000 residents a year, between Co. Galway’s towns (9.5) and 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 | Tuam | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 4.9 | 7.2 | 6.4 |
| Theft | 7.9 | 18.5 | 15.3 |
| Violent crime | 7.2 | 9.5 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 59.7 | 89.5 | 54.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
The mean temperature over a year in Tuam is 10.1°C. 1,186 mm of rain falls in a year, below Co. Galway’s towns (1,265 mm) but above Irish towns (937 mm). Expect July highs of around 19.4°C in the town.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Tuam | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.4°C | 3.0°C | 2.9°C |
| July high | 19.4°C | 19.2°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,186 mm | 1,265 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.1°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Protected sites cover 2.7% of the land within 5 km, below Co. Galway’s towns (15%) but above Irish towns (1.8%). Among the protected sites near Tuam is Lough Corrib SAC. One park, 27 ha of green space: that is the measure of the town’s parkland.
| Outdoors | Tuam | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 57% | 81% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 2.7% | 15% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.4 km per km² | 2.3 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.
Today stays dry but breezy, with wind up to 23 km/h and a low of 6°C. The warmest afternoon ahead comes on Friday, at 10°C; the coolest tops out at 7°C. In a typical November, days climb to about 11°C and nights sink to 5°C, the yardstick for Tuam’s forecast.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 353 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 235 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 265 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 333 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
People aged 15 to 24 make up 11% of the town, lower than both Co. Galway’s towns (15%) and Irish towns (12%). Graduates make up 30% of adults. 28% of the people living here were born in another country.
Women make up 51.4% of Tuam
4,962 women and 4,685 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Tuam | Co. Galway | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 23% | 16% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 15% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 31% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 21% | 24% |
| 65+ | 13% | 12% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 10% | 7.3% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 14% | 10% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 39% | 28% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.3% | 5.4% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 30% | 49% | 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. Fine Gael lead Galway County Council with 13 of 39 seats, but no party has a majority: 20 are needed. Tuam answers to one council, Galway County Council; Ireland has no town tier.
| Turnout | Tuam | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 57% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 62% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The archaeological record lists 52 sites here. Homes from before 1919 make up 2.5% of the total. Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 56 buildings in Tuam, 2 of national or international importance.
| Heritage | Tuam | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 58 | 15 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 52 | 17 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Irish-medium schools make up 13%, between Co. Galway’s towns (15%) and Irish towns (8%). The nearest secondary, High Cross College, is 0.3 km away. Families in Tuam have 8 schools within 3 km to choose from: 4 primary schools, 3 secondary schools and 1 special school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity Primary School DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 781 | Catholic |
| High Cross CollegeLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 777 | Catholic |
| Gaelscoil Iarfhlatha GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 223 | Catholic |
| Archbishop McHale College DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 479 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Tuam | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 33% | 39% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +14% | +2% | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 13% | 15% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 25% | 29% | 35% |
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.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Tuam. Best known first.
CathedralCathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Maryin town
CathedralSt Mary's Cathedral, Tuamin town
Abbey or prioryKilbennan Monastery2 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 56 buildings in Tuam, 2 of national or international importance. Archaeologists have recorded 52 sites here.
25 notable people were born in Tuam.
Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair: ClintMalpaso, Public domain · Rory Gaffney: Mattythewhite, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Finian McGrath: Houses of the Oireachtas, CC BY 4.0 · Michael P. Kitt: Houses of the Oireachtas, CC BY 2.0 · Patrick Joseph Dillon: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Thomas Finney: Contributor(s): Poulsen Studios, Public domain
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
Tuam had 9,647 people at the 2022 census, up from 8,801 in 2016: 9.6% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Tuam is 38.1, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 23% of residents are under 15 and 13% are 65 or over.
Urban area in Co. Galway
9,647 people live in Tuam, 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).