Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records 283 buildings here. It is a town of 26,079 residents in Co. Kerry.
Tralee’s weakest subject is safety — per 1,000 residents a year, gardaí record 10.7 violent crimes and 5.9 burglaries and acts of criminal damage. It lags on hazard risk as well: an estimated just over a quarter of its homes exceed the radon reference level. Buying a home costs less than in most towns: a median €232,000 buys a home here, 5.4 years of what the median household earns. Put together, the subjects come to a C− overall, better than 18% of Irish towns. That places it #263 of 320 Irish towns.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · radon, EPA.
The 3 things Tralee does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Tralee 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 →
The register holds 283 buildings on the National Inventory in Tralee, 8 of them of national importance.
119 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
3% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Tralee.
Radon: 100% of homes are in high-radon areas, above both Co. Kerry’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%). The nearest bathing water to Tralee is Fenit, 12 km away, rated excellent in 2025. Landslides: none of Tralee lies in a high-susceptibility zone.
| Share of homes | Tralee | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 21% | 6.3% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more incidents per resident: they are counted where they happen, not where victims live.
For its size, Tralee records more crime per resident than 71% of the 118 Irish towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Per 1,000 residents, 75.2 crimes of all kinds are recorded a year. Assaults and harassment topped the graded crimes in Tralee (2023–2025).
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 | Tralee | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 10.7 | 5.8 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 75.2 | 44.9 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 19.2 | 5 | 15.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 5.9 | 3.2 | 6.4 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
61% of 15 to 64s were in work, lower than both Co. Kerry’s towns (67%) and Irish towns (68%). On average, the journey to work lasts 20.5 min. Income per household averages €42,580 a year, before tax.
| Census 2022 | Tralee | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 61% | 67% | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 14% | 11% | 9.2% |
| Average trip | 20.5 min | 21.9 min | 27.6 min |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 50% | 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.
Ages taken into account, Tralee counts 109 people with a disability for every 100 predicted. The town’s share in bad or very bad health, 2.7%, is the highest of the 5 towns in Co. Kerry. 86% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below both Co. Kerry’s towns (87%) and Irish towns (88%).
| Census 2022 | Tralee | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 2.7% | 2.2% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 86% | 87% | 88% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.8% | 5.4% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 24% | 24% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
39% of the schools are in the DEIS scheme, above both Co. Kerry’s towns (18%) and Irish towns (35%). For secondary school, the closest is Presentation Secondary School, 0.6 km from the town. Pupils across the 18 schools within 3 km of Tralee: 6,726.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Eoin Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 589 | Catholic |
| Mercy Secondary School MounthawkLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 1,322 | Catholic |
| Gaelscoil Mhic Easmainn GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 415 | Catholic |
| S N Mhuire na mBraithre DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 414 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Tralee | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 39% | 18% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 40% | 67% | 39% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +5% | +11% | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 11% | 10% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
53% of households own their home, near Co. Kerry’s towns (55%) and lower than Irish towns (61%). Between 2010 and 2025 the typical sale price in Tralee rose 59%, to €278K: slower than the 77% rise across Irish towns. Social housing holds 18% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €417,800 | 38 |
| Second-hand homes | €227,000 | 973 |
| The last 12 months | €285,000 | 273 |
| Housing | Tralee | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €232K | €263K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,210 | €1,105 | €1,606 |
| Households renting privately | 27% | 23% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 53% | 55% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
On a January night, the temperature in Tralee falls to about 3.9°C. The year’s mean temperature is 11.0°C, near Co. Kerry’s towns (10.9°C) and higher than Irish towns (10.3°C). The town sees July afternoons of 19.5°C on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Tralee | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average temperature over the year | 11.0°C | 10.9°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 3.9°C | 3.7°C | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,312 mm | 1,424 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 19.5°C | 19.7°C | 19.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
A park or green space is within 400 m for 77% of homes. Woodland covers 2.4% of the land within 1 km, below Co. Kerry’s towns (4.8%) and Irish towns (2.7%) alike. There are 14 parks in Tralee; together its green space comes to 60 ha.
| Outdoors | Tralee | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 21% | 9.4% | 1.8% |
| Near a park | 77% | 71% | 92% |
| Sea within 5 km | 6.4% | 0% | 0% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 2.4% | 4.8% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Tralee’s November pattern is steady: afternoons average 12°C, nights 6°C. It should stay dry today, with a fresh breeze of up to 21 km/h and a low near 4°C. Of the days after that, Tuesday brings the most rain: about 7 mm.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 10°C | 4°C | 416 mm |
| Spring | 14°C | 6°C | 252 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 12°C | 254 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 8°C | 390 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
The 65-and-over age group makes up 16% of residents. Daily Irish speakers outside school: 1.3%, higher than both Co. Kerry’s towns (1.1%) and Irish towns (1.1%). Under 15: 18% of residents.
51.4% of Tralee’s residents are women
13,406 women and 12,673 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Tralee | Co. Kerry | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 27% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 16% | 19% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 11% | 11% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 15% | 15% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 37% | 38% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.5% | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 31% | 30% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Kerry and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
At the general election 65% voted, about level with Co. Kerry’s towns (65%) and above Irish towns (59%). Kerry County Council is the council for Tralee, and the only one: Ireland has a single tier of local government. Independent lead Kerry County Council with 11 of 33 seats, but no party has a majority: 17 are needed.
| Turnout | Tralee | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 52% | 63% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 65% | 65% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Tralee has 109 inventory buildings for every 10,000 residents, above both Co. Kerry’s towns (81) and Irish towns (48). The ground here holds 119 recorded archaeological sites. 3.4% of homes were built before 1919.
| Heritage | Tralee | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archaeological sites on the record | 119 | 17 | 11 |
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 109 | 81 | 48 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Tralee. Best known first.
Tralee’s built heritage counts 283 inventory entries; 8 carry national or international standing. The national record lists 119 archaeological sites in and around the town.
115 notable people were born in Tralee.
Robert D. FitzGerald: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · William Crean: Trocaire from Ireland, CC BY 2.0 · Austin Stack: Unknown author Unknown author , scanned & uploaded by M Doyle, Public domain · Norma Foley: House of the Oireachtas, CC BY 4.0 · David Clifford: Dublin32, CC BY 4.0 · Darren Dennehy: Seaninryan, CC BY-SA 4.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tralee | 26,079 | — | C− | B | C− | C+ |
| Milltown | 1,118 | 14 | — | B− | A | C− |
| Castleisland | 2,536 | 17 | A+ | A− | A− | B |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Tralee had 26,079 people at the 2022 census, up from 23,670 in 2016: 10.2% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Tralee is 39.3, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
8% mostly work from home, and 50% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Kerry
Tralee has 26,079 people, 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).