Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 555 in Co. Kerry. Its population rose 10% from 2016 to 2022.
Waterville takes 7.4 years of the median household income to buy the median home, at €307,500. It skews older: 25% of residents are 65 or over. 52% of households have paid off their home. The median household takes in €41,380 a year before tax.
There are no grades for Waterville: Irish towns need 1,000 residents for them.
The 3 things Waterville does most differently from other towns.
2 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Waterville.
The nearest bathing water to Waterville is Trá na hUíne (Inny Strand, Waterville), 2.7 km away, rated excellent in 2025. By estimate, fewer than one home in a hundred locally has radon above the reference level. No part of Waterville is mapped as high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Waterville | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Across the year, Waterville averages 11.4°C. A January night in Waterville drops to 5.2°C on average, above both Co. Kerry’s towns (3.7°C) and Irish towns (2.9°C). A year brings 1,737 mm of rain to Waterville.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Waterville | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.6°C | 19.6°C | 19.9°C |
| January low | 5.2°C | 3.7°C | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,737 mm | 1,339 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 11.4°C | 10.9°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
For its ages, Waterville has 72 people in bad health for every 100 expected, below Co. Kerry’s towns (106) and Irish towns (113) alike. Just over a fifth of residents in Waterville live with a disability. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 1.7% of the town.
| Census 2022 | Waterville | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 6.5% | 5.8% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 21% | 24% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.7% | 2.3% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 86% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Households that own their home make up 68%. 18% live in social housing, close to Co. Kerry’s towns (18%) and above Irish towns (13%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €307,500 | 86 |
| Housing | Waterville | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 11% | 27% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 68% | 53% | 61% |
| Median sale price | €308K | €232K | €350K |
| Households in social housing | 18% | 18% | 13% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Walkers have 0.6 km per km² of paths and tracks, about level with Co. Kerry’s towns (0.6 km per km²) and below Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Among the protected sites near Waterville is Ballinskelligs Bay. Green space lies within 400 m of 85% of homes.
| Outdoors | Waterville | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 28% | 12% | 1.8% |
| Sea within 5 km | 26% | 0% | 0% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.7% | 2.4% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 85% | 77% | 92% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Expect a dry, breezy day today, the wind reaching 31 km/h and the temperature dipping to 7°C. Rain peaks later in the week on Tuesday, at about 8 mm for the day. December follows with normal highs of 11°C and lows of 6°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 10°C | 5°C | 517 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 7°C | 343 mm |
| Summer | 18°C | 12°C | 364 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 10°C | 514 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
In work: 71% of residents aged 15 to 64, above both Co. Kerry’s towns (67%) and Irish towns (68%). 11% of the labour force are out of work. At the census, 14% of commuters got to work without a car.
| Census 2022 | Waterville | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 19.3 min | 21.7 min | 27.6 min |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 53% | 53% | 31% |
| Median household income | €41,380 | €42,580 | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 71% | 67% | 68% |
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.
Children under 15 make up 16%, lower than both Co. Kerry’s towns (18%) and Irish towns (20%). Aged 15 to 24: 9% of residents. Graduates make up 28% of adults.
52.8% of Waterville’s residents are women
293 women and 262 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Waterville | Co. Kerry | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 25% | 18% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 5.5% | 11% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 43% | 37% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 8.3% | 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+
65% voted at the general election. Kerry County Council runs Waterville: Ireland has one tier of local government, with no town council below it.
| Turnout | Waterville | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 63% | 62% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 65% | 65% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The Sites and Monuments Record lists 2 sites here, below both Co. Kerry’s towns (19) and Irish towns (11). Per 10,000 residents, Waterville counts 90 inventory buildings. 5 of Waterville’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
| Heritage | Waterville | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 90 | 94 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 12.1% | 4.5% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 2 | 19 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Within 3 km of Waterville there is one school. Pupils at the school within 3 km of the town: 110.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St FiniansLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 110 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Waterville | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 11% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 29% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +10% | +9% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland publishes no results school by school, so these cards carry no letters or results.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Waterville. Best known first.
5 of Waterville’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 2 archaeological sites in and around the town.
4 notable people were born in Waterville.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterville | 555 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cahirciveen | 1,297 | 13 | — | B | A | A |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Waterville had 555 people at the 2022 census, up from 503 in 2016: 10.3% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Waterville is 47.2, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
1.6% of residents speak Irish every day outside school, against 1.1% in the median of Irish towns; 45% can speak it.
12% mostly work from home, and 53% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Kerry
555 people live in Waterville, 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). 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).