Photo: Robert Ashby · CC BY-SA 2.0Spa is older than 98% of Irish towns: a median age of 45
Households in flats are rarer here than in 99% of Irish towns. The 2022 Census counted 362 residents in 126 households. Here, 95% of residents describe themselves as White Irish. 0.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across Ireland’s towns the figure is 4.7%.
Spa changed by +3% from 2016 to 2022, slower than 78% 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 the median change is +8%; across Co. Kerry’s towns, +2%.
22% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 93% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
5–9 is the most common age band: one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across Ireland’s towns. On the census count, one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. As a reference point, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Kerry 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 85% of Irish towns: 5.1%
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
58% of Spa’s residents are in the professional, managerial and technical classes and 12% in the semi-skilled and unskilled classes, against 34% and 15% across Ireland’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year make up 7.5% across Ireland’s towns.
Spa: 48% of households are parents with children, above 75% 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.
The average household has 2.9 people, against 2.7 across Ireland’s towns. Across Ireland’s towns, the share of households of parents with children is 43%. On the census count, just over a fifth of households are one person living alone.
Households without a car or van make up 4% in Spa, less than in 98% of Irish towns
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
Home broadband covers nine in ten households, while 6.5% go without the internet (typical: 7.6%). For Spa, the census puts holiday homes at 1.4%. On average, 17% of households have no car or van across Ireland’s towns.
Half of households earn more than €59,940 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Half of Spa’s households have a gross income above €59,940 a year and half below, close to the median for Ireland (€60,120). Across Co. Kerry the median is €48,320.
In Spa, 10% of residents were born outside Ireland, fewer than in 97% 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 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.
At home, 4.9% use another language, chiefly Spanish (1.7%), and 1.7% speak English not well or not at all. This Co. Kerry town has fewer residents with another country’s citizenship than 98% of Irish towns, at 4.2%. For comparison, 22% of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns.
A higher share of daily speakers of Irish outside education than 97% of Irish towns, at 2.6%
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
In all, 210 residents aged 3 and over (60%) can speak Irish. Daily speakers of Irish outside education make up 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
Spa sits below 99% of Irish towns for residents with no religion (4.2%)
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: 95% of Spa · Co. Kerry’s towns 73% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 71% across Ireland’s towns, 94% of residents said they are Catholic here. On average, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns.
Above 99% of Irish towns: 9.4% of residents give unpaid care
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.
46% of Spa’s residents 15 and over are single and 43% married, against 56% and 34% across Ireland’s towns. Measured more widely, 5.4% of residents give unpaid care across Ireland’s towns.
In Spa, 50% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, more than in 79% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Postgraduate qualifications are held by 17% of adults here, while 4.5% stopped at primary level or earlier (9.7% across Ireland’s towns). Elsewhere, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Every neighbour of Spa has a younger population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spa | 362 | — | 45 | 22% | 48% |
| Tralee | 26,079 | 6.1 km | 39.3 | 16% | 39% |
| Milltown | 1,118 | 15.6 km | 37.7 | 14% | 52% |
| Killorglin | 2,163 | 19.2 km | 40.6 | 17% | 39% |
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 Spa’s residents
What is the population of Spa?
Spa had 362 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Spa?
The median age is 45. 25% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Spa?
60% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (210 people), and 2.6% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Spa?
95% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 10% were born abroad and 4.2% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Spa?
94% are Catholic, 4.2% have no religion and 2% another religion; 2.2% didn’t say.
Is Spa good for families?
48% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 25% of residents are under 18. Schools near Spa are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Spa?
Median gross household income in Spa was €59,940 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).