Photo: Rubensni ( Uploads ) · Public domainA median age of 44: Ballyheigue is older than 96% of Irish towns
Compared with 12% across Ireland’s towns, 0.8% of households live in a flat or apartment here. There were 237 households in Ballyheigue at the 2022 Census, home to 546 residents. The census found that 88% of residents said they are Catholic here. One-person households are more common here than in 98% of Irish towns.
Slower than most: −3% since 2016, behind 98% 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.
For comparison, the median is +8% across Ireland’s towns and +2% across Co. Kerry’s towns.
Ballyheigue: 21% of residents are 65 or over, above 93% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: 9.2% of residents, 1.9 times the share across Ireland’s towns. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 97% of Irish towns: 9.3%. The usual figure: 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Kerry 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%.
A lower share of students among residents 15 and over than 98% of Irish towns, at 7.4%
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
Compared with 7.5% across Ireland’s towns, 6.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier here. Elsewhere, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
In Ballyheigue, 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 94% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Kerry’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
A household here has 2.3 people on average; across Ireland’s towns, 2.7. By way of comparison, 4.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Ireland’s towns. On the census count, 38% of households are parents with children.
More holiday homes than 99% of Irish towns: 31% of homes
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
At home, 75% have broadband, while 20% have no internet access (typical: 7.6%). The wider picture: 0.2% of homes are holiday homes across Ireland’s towns. The census found that 16% of households have no car or van in Ballyheigue.
Half of households earn more than €44,010 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
At €44,010 a year before tax, the median household income is 27% under that of Ireland (€60,120). That compares with €48,320 across Co. Kerry.
A lower share of residents with another country’s citizenship than 98% of Irish towns, at 5.1%
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 30%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
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 (9.1%) or outside the EU and UK (5.2%). 15% of residents were born outside Ireland, fewer than in 84% of Irish towns.
Irish speakers: 37% of Ballyheigue’s residents
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
Some 188 people here, 37% of residents aged 3 and over, can speak Irish. More daily speakers of Irish outside education than in 73% of Irish towns: 1.4%.
6.7% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 99% of Irish towns
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: 91% of Ballyheigue · Co. Kerry’s towns 73% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White Irish: 91%, above 98% of Irish towns. For comparison, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (6.5%), Asian or Asian Irish (1.3%) and Other, including mixed (1%).
A larger share of unpaid carers than 95% of Irish towns: 6.8%
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.
The census found that 34% of residents 15 and over are married in Ballyheigue. For unpaid carers, the comparison across Ireland’s towns is 5.4%.
Fewer adults with a degree or higher than 84% of Irish towns: 22%
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Primary level or earlier: 17%, against 9.7% across Ireland’s towns. Postgraduate: nearly one in ten adults. The comparison figure for adults with a degree or higher is 36% across Ireland’s towns.
Of the 2 towns nearest Ballyheigue, 1 are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballyheigue | 546 | — | 44 | 21% | 38% |
| Tralee | 26,079 | 16.2 km | 39.3 | 16% | 39% |
| Ballybunion | 1,618 | 17.2 km | 44.4 | 24% | 36% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Kerry’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Kerry’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 Ballyheigue’s residents
What is the population of Ballyheigue?
Ballyheigue had 546 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 3% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Ballyheigue?
The median age is 44. 21% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Ballyheigue?
37% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (188 people), and 1.4% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Ballyheigue?
91% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 15% were born abroad and 5.1% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Ballyheigue?
88% are Catholic, 6.7% have no religion and 5.7% another religion; 3.7% didn’t say.
Is Ballyheigue good for families?
38% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 21% of residents are under 18. Schools near Ballyheigue are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Ballyheigue?
Median gross household income in Ballyheigue was €44,010 in 2022, against €48,320 across Co. Kerry 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).