A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of Irish towns: 7.1%
Across Ireland’s towns, 71% of residents said they are Catholic; in Williamstown, 87%. The 2022 Census counted 198 people here, in 75 households; half are older than 33.5. Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.3% of the total. On households without a car or van, Williamstown sits lower than 88% of Irish towns: 7%.
A growing town: +8% since 2016, faster than 53% 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.
Younger than 90% of Irish towns: half of Williamstown is under 33.5
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
No age band is larger than 30–34: 13% of residents, 1.9 times the share across Ireland’s towns. Across Williamstown, 16% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Galway 51.6%, Ireland 51.2%.
A lower share of students among residents 15 and over than 99% of Irish towns, at 1.4%
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
Just over a quarter of Williamstown’s residents are in the professional, managerial and technical classes and 19% in the semi-skilled and unskilled classes, against 34% and 15% across Ireland’s towns. In Williamstown, 5.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
A larger share of one-person households than 70% of Irish towns: 28%
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.
Households in Williamstown hold 2.6 people on average (Ireland’s towns: 2.7). What’s more, this Co. Galway town has fewer households of parents with children than nearly two thirds of Irish towns, at 40%. Against that, 24% of households are one person living alone across Ireland’s towns.
Williamstown sits above 82% of Irish towns for holiday homes (0.9%)
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
Broadband reaches 86% of households; 13% have no internet at all (typical: 7.6%). Households in flats are rarer here than in 99% of Irish towns. Elsewhere, 0.2% of homes are holiday homes across Ireland’s towns.
€50,430 a year: the median household income
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
A median gross household income of €50,430 sits 16% below Ireland (€60,120). That compares with €59,640 across Co. Galway.
Williamstown: 23% of residents were born outside Ireland, above 54% of Irish towns
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.
Most residents from abroad were born in the UK (8.9%) or in Poland (5.8%). 15% of residents are citizens of another country, more than in 54% of Irish towns. Across the comparison, just over a fifth of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns.
Above 95% of Irish towns: 2.3% of residents speak Irish daily outside education
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
Top of Co. Galway: Knocknacarra, at 4.5%. Across Ireland’s towns, daily speakers of Irish outside education come to 1.1%.
Williamstown ranks below 99% of Irish towns on residents with no religion: 6.5%
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: 73% of Williamstown · Co. Galway’s towns 72% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White Irish is 73%, against 78% across Ireland’s towns. Across Ireland’s towns, 17% of residents said they have no religion.
Williamstown ranks above 96% of Irish towns on unpaid carers: 7.1%
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.
Across Ireland’s towns, the share of married residents 15 and over is 34%; Williamstown has 31%. For comparison, 5.4% of residents give unpaid care across Ireland’s towns.
15% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, fewer than in 96% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
A postgraduate qualification is the highest level for 5.3% of adults; primary level or less for 15% (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%).
No nearby town is as young as Williamstown
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williamstown | 198 | — | 33.5 | 16% | 40% |
| Castlerea | 2,348 | 11.6 km | 43.1 | 22% | 31% |
| Ballyhaunis | 2,773 | 15.8 km | 34.5 | 12% | 45% |
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 Williamstown’s residents
What is the population of Williamstown?
Williamstown had 198 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 8% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Williamstown?
The median age is 33.5. 28% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Williamstown?
39% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (69 people), and 2.3% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Williamstown?
73% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 23% were born abroad and 15% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Williamstown?
87% are Catholic, 6.5% have no religion and 7% another religion; 6.6% didn’t say.
Is Williamstown good for families?
40% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 28% of residents are under 18. Schools near Williamstown are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Williamstown?
Median gross household income in Williamstown was €50,430 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).