Photo: Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0Residents who describe themselves as White Irish make up 62% in Tuam, less than in 87% of Irish towns
12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Ireland’s towns, against 11% in Tuam. Meanwhile, at 29%, the share of one-person households is higher than in 78% of Irish towns. In 2022, the Census found 9,647 residents in the town, living in 3,718 households. For Tuam, the census puts households of parents with children at 41%.
What stands out about the people of Tuam
A mix of backgrounds
38% of residents describe a background other than White Irish, more than in 87% of Irish towns. The largest groups after White Irish are Other White (19%), Irish Traveller (7.8%) and Asian or Asian Irish (5.1%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Tuam grew +10% from 2016 to 2022, ahead of 61% of Irish towns
Residents at the 2016 and 2022 censuses, on 2022 boundaries, and the change beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Change, 2016 to 2022
CSO publishes yearly population estimates for counties and regions, not towns, so the trend is two censuses rather than a line; 2016 ages aren’t on 2022 boundaries, so there is no change by age.
Across Ireland’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +8%; across Co. Galway’s towns, by more than +7%.
A median age of 38.1: Tuam is older than 56% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 40–44 than any other five-year age: 9.3% of residents. In Newcastle, the oldest of Co. Galway’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Tuam, 38.1. The typical town is 37.6.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Galway 51.6%, Ireland 51.2%.
31% of residents belong to the professional, managerial and technical classes
CSO’s social classes (everyone, by their own or their family’s occupation), the occupations of those at work, and where residents lived a year before the Census.
Residents by social class · all residents
Where residents lived a year earlier
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Workers by occupation · residents at work
There is little gap on students among residents 15 and over: 9.3%, about the same as across Ireland’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 7.4%.
2.6 people per household, fewer than in 64% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Galway’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
The share of shared households of unrelated adults stands at 4.5%.
Below 60% of Irish towns: 11% of households live in a flat or apartment
Home types, cars and the internet, by household. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Internet at home · share of households
86% have broadband at home and 12% no internet at all (typical: 7.6%). The share of holiday homes stands at 0.5%. Every 6th household or so has no car or van.
Before tax, the median household income is €48,350 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
At €48,350 a year before tax, the median household income is 20% under that of Ireland (€60,120). Across Co. Galway, the middle household has €59,640.
A higher share of residents with another country’s citizenship than 78% of Irish towns, at 21%
Place of birth and citizenship as CSO asks them: born abroad includes Irish citizens born abroad.
Born abroad, by birthplace · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
Citizens of another country, by citizenship; CSO counts dual Irish citizens as Irish.
Other languages · share of all residents
CSO’s small-area tables don’t give the year people arrived.
Residents born abroad were most often born outside the EU and UK (8.2%), then in Poland (6.5%). On average, 15% of residents are citizens of another country across Ireland’s towns. 28% of residents were born outside Ireland, a higher share than in 74% of Irish towns.
Irish speakers make up 37% of Tuam
Residents aged 3 and over who can speak Irish, and how often they speak it outside education (CSO).
Irish speakers · residents aged 3 and over
At 1.2%, daily speakers of Irish outside education sit close to the figure across Ireland’s towns. Speakers of Irish: 3,067 residents, 37% of those aged 3 and over.
A smaller share of residents with no religion than 82% of Irish towns: 12%
Ethnic or cultural background and religion, in CSO’s categories, as people described themselves.
Ethnic groups other than White Irish · all residents
White Irish, not charted: 62% of Tuam · Co. Galway’s towns 72% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
With residents who said they are Catholic at 74%, Tuam is ahead of 66% of Irish towns on that count. By way of comparison, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns. After White Irish, the largest groups are Other White (19%), Irish Traveller (7.8%) and Asian or Asian Irish (5.1%).
Half of adults have never married
Marital status of residents 15 and over, and unpaid carers.
Partnership status · residents 15 and over
The small-area tables count carers, not their hours of care.
Locally, 5.3% of residents give unpaid care. There is little gap on married residents 15 and over: 34%, about the same as across Ireland’s towns.
Tuam ranks below 64% of Irish towns on adults with a degree or higher: 30%
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Of Tuam’s adults, 9.6% went on to postgraduate study and 10% left at primary level or earlier (9.7% across Ireland’s towns). The usual figure: 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Among 41 towns of 8,505 to 11,149 people, the 18th youngest
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Ages run from 33.1 in Kilcock to 43.8 in Donaghmede. Nearest to Tuam in age: Booterstown (37.2), Glasnevin (37.7), Nenagh (38.4) and Ballyvolane (38.4).
The places around Tuam
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuam | 9,647 | — | 38.1 | 13% | 41% |
| Headford | 1,235 | 17.1 km | 38.2 | 13% | 44% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Galway’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Galway’s towns of 2,500 or more and over the Irish towns of 2,500 or more (city totals left out). Percentiles are within Ireland only.
- The earlier population is an estimate. Towns had no official 2016 count on today’s boundaries, so the 2016 figure is CSO’s electoral-division count shared out by where people lived in 2022: read a small town in a large rural division loosely.
- What these tables don’t give. The small-area tables give no year of arrival and no hours of care, and a town’s electoral divisions run past its edge, so the page doesn’t split a town into named areas (a city lists its neighbourhoods).
- The census’s own words. Born abroad, citizenship, ethnic or cultural background and religion are CSO’s questions and categories; the page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
Questions about Tuam’s residents
What is the population of Tuam?
Tuam had 9,647 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 10% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Tuam?
The median age is 38.1, older than 56% of Irish towns. 27% are under 18 and 13% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Tuam?
37% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (3,067 people), and 1.2% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Tuam?
62% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 28% were born abroad and 21% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Tuam?
74% are Catholic, 12% have no religion and 14% another religion; 9.4% didn’t say.
Is Tuam good for families?
41% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 27% of residents are under 18. Schools near Tuam are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Tuam?
Median gross household income in Tuam was €48,350 in 2022, against €59,640 across Co. Galway and €60,120 for Ireland.
Sources: CSO, Census of Population 2022, Small Area Population Statistics · CSO PxStat FP009 (2016 by electoral division) · CSO GPIIA, household income 2022. 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).