Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The population grew 10% between 2016 and 2022. This town in Co. Kerry has a population of 1,618.
Ballybunion’s strongest subject is hazard risk (A). Radon is barely a concern: almost no homes exceed the reference level. It takes 8.5 years of the median household income to buy the median home, at €300,000. Jobs and pay trail most towns (D−): 63% of people aged 15 to 64 are in work, and unemployment is 14%.
Figures: radon, EPA · work, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO. An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Irish towns; Ballybunion has its subject grades alone.
Rents for this town aren't published on their own, so its Cost Grade uses the county's average rent. Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level. This town's Hazard risk Grade uses radon and landslides only: open LiDAR heights don't cover enough of its homes to measure flooding, so flood isn't counted for or against it.
The 3 things Ballybunion does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Ballybunion 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.
6% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ballybunion.
Short trips: 47% under 15 minutes, below Co. Kerry’s towns (53%) but above Irish towns (31%). The commute to work averages 25.9 min. The average household earns €35,373 a year before tax.
| Census 2022 | Ballybunion | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 14% | 11% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 63% | 67% | 68% |
| Median household income | €35,373 | €42,580 | €57,760 |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 47% | 53% | 31% |
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.
Ballybunnion North, 0.4 km from Ballybunion, is the closest bathing water; it was rated excellent in 2025. On high landslide susceptibility: 0.8% of homes, above both Co. Kerry’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%). Under 1% of homes locally are estimated to have radon above the reference level.
| Share of homes | Ballybunion | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0.8% | 0% | 0% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Allowing for its ages, Ballybunion has 115 residents with a disability per 100 expected, higher than both Co. Kerry’s towns (105) and Irish towns (106). At the census, 3.5% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. 7.4% of residents in Ballybunion care, unpaid, for a relative or friend.
| Census 2022 | Ballybunion | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 7.4% | 5.8% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.5% | 2.3% | 2% |
| With a disability | 28% | 24% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 84% | 86% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Across the year it averages 10.9°C, near Co. Kerry’s towns (10.9°C) and higher than Irish towns (10.3°C). Winter lows in Ballybunion average 4.2°C in January. A year brings 1,212 mm of rain to Ballybunion.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ballybunion | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.9°C | 19.6°C | 19.9°C |
| January low | 4.2°C | 3.7°C | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,212 mm | 1,339 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.9°C | 10.9°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Within 1 km, 0.1% of the land is woodland, below both Co. Kerry’s towns (2.4%) and Irish towns (2.7%). Among the protected sites near Ballybunion is Lower River Shannon SAC. The town has 1.1 ha of green space for every 1,000 residents.
| Outdoors | Ballybunion | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 41% | 77% | 92% |
| Sea within 5 km | 37% | 0% | 0% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.1% | 2.4% | 2.7% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 7.4% | 12% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Rain peaks later in the week on Tuesday, at about 9 mm for the day. The forecast for Ballybunion beside its normal weather: a typical November day reaches 12°C and drops to 6°C at night. Expect a dry, breezy day today, the wind reaching 24 km/h and the temperature dipping to 6°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 10°C | 4°C | 367 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 225 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 12°C | 260 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 9°C | 360 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Aged 15 to 24: 8.7% of residents. Children under 15 make up 18%, near Co. Kerry’s towns (18%) and lower than Irish towns (20%). Foreign-born residents make up 16% of the population.
52.4% of Ballybunion’s residents are women
848 women and 770 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ballybunion | Co. Kerry | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 8.7% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 24% | 18% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 12% | 11% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 15% | 15% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 38% | 37% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.6% | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 28% | 31% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Kerry and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Ballybunion answers to one council, Kerry County Council; Ireland has no town tier. 65% of voters cast a ballot at the general election. Independent lead Kerry County Council with 11 of 33 seats, but no party has a majority: 17 are needed.
| Turnout | Ballybunion | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 57% | 62% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 65% | 65% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The Sites and Monuments Record lists 8 sites here, lower than both Co. Kerry’s towns (19) and Irish towns (11). The pre-1919 share of homes is 6.2%. 20 of Ballybunion’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
| Heritage | Ballybunion | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 124 | 94 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 6.2% | 4.5% | 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
10% rent privately, lower than both Co. Kerry’s towns (27%) and Irish towns (22%). Home ownership stands at nearly three in five households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €300,000 | 55 |
| The last 12 months | €302,500 | 33 |
| Housing | Ballybunion | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 26% | 18% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 10% | 27% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €300K | €232K | €350K |
| Households owning their home | 59% | 53% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Homes see 3.2 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. Every kind together came to 28.4 per 1,000 residents a year, below Co. Kerry’s towns (54.9) and Irish towns (54.3) alike. Among the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Ballybunion has more crime per resident than 73% of them.
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 | Ballybunion | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 28.4 | 54.9 | 54.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 3.2 | 4 | 6.4 |
| Theft | 2.6 | 6.6 | 15.3 |
| Violent crime | 6 | 7.8 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Ballybunion. Best known first.
20 of Ballybunion’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 8 archaeological sites in and around the town.
4 notable people were born in Ballybunion.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballybunion | 1,618 | — | — | C+ | B | C− |
| Listowel | 4,794 | 15 | C+ | B+ | C | B− |
| Kilkee Clare | 1,214 | 19 | — | A− | B− | B− |
| Kilrush Clare | 2,649 | 19 | C+ | A+ | C | D |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Ballybunion had 1,618 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,467 in 2016: 10.3% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Ballybunion is 44.4, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
12% mostly work from home, and 47% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Kerry
1,618 people live in Ballybunion, in the area of Kerry 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).