Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
178 of its buildings are on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. This town in Co. Kildare has a population of 11,035.
Athy’s lowest grade is for jobs & income (D−): unemployment is 15%, and 60% of 15 to 64s have a job. Health is a weak point: bad health runs at 170 and disability at 123 per 100 expected for its ages. Buying a home costs less than in most towns (A): half the homes sold for more than €275,000, a price of 5.7 times what the median household earns. The overall grade comes out at C−, #14 of 14 in Co. Kildare. It comes out better than 22% of Irish towns.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · work and health, CSO Census 2022.
The 3 things Athy does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Athy 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 →
26 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 Athy.
Workers spend 34.3 min getting to work, on average. Households had €48,055 a year before tax, below both Co. Kildare’s towns (€75,277) and Irish towns (€57,760). Working from home was the norm for 6.1% of workers at the census.
| Census 2022 | Athy | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 15% | 6.4% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 60% | 71% | 68% |
| Median household income | €48,055 | €75,277 | €57,760 |
| Average trip | 34.3 min | 32.2 min | 27.6 min |
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.
A quarter of residents have a disability, above Co. Kildare’s towns (20%) and Irish towns (22%) alike. Among the 40 Irish towns closest to its size, Athy ranks 39th on the Health Grade, near the foot. At the census, 2.8% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2022 | Athy | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 2.8% | 1.4% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 86% | 91% | 88% |
| With a disability | 25% | 20% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.4% | 4.9% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
59% of households own their home, below Co. Kildare’s towns (70%) and close to Irish towns (61%). No town in Co. Kildare costs less to buy into than Athy, at €275,000, the lowest of 14. A buyer in Athy paid 141% more for a typical home in 2025 than in 2010: €361K against €150K.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €380,200 | 170 |
| Second-hand homes | €235,000 | 432 |
| The last 12 months | €385,000 | 364 |
| Housing | Athy | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 19% | 9% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €275K | €415K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,321 | €1,602 | €1,606 |
| Households owning their home | 59% | 70% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Violence accounts for 6.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. In 2023–2025, assaults and harassment led the graded crimes in Athy. Every kind together came to 56.2 per 1,000 residents a year, above Co. Kildare’s towns (41.3) and close to Irish towns (54.3).
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 | Athy | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 7.6 | 4.2 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 6.8 | 3.8 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 56.2 | 41.3 | 54.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Árdscoil na Trionóide is the nearest secondary school, 0.8 km away. Irish-medium schools make up 14%, above both Co. Kildare’s towns (6%) and Irish towns (8%). Families in Athy have 7 schools within 3 km to choose from: 5 primary schools and 2 secondary schools.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Phadraig Naofa DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 592 | Catholic |
| Árdscoil na TrionóideLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 894 | Catholic |
| Gaelscoil Átha Í GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 151 | Inter-denominational |
| Athy Community College DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 646 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Athy | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 57% | 0% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 23% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 14% | 6% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +1% | +7% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No school here carries a letter or a result: Ireland publishes neither for individual schools.
835 mm of rain falls in a year, near Co. Kildare’s towns (857 mm) and lower than Irish towns (937 mm). Over twelve months, Athy averages 10.1°C. On a January night, the temperature in Athy falls to about 2.2°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Athy | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 20.4°C | 20.0°C | 19.9°C |
| January low | 2.2°C | 2.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.1°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
| Rain a year | 835 mm | 857 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Walkers have 0.9 km per km² of paths and tracks, below both Co. Kildare’s towns (1.1 km per km²) and Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Protected nature near Athy includes River Barrow. Green space in Athy totals 16 ha, in one park.
| Outdoors | Athy | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 65% | 79% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.3% | 2.8% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.9 km per km² | 1.1 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
It should stay dry today, with a fresh breeze of up to 20 km/h and a low near 5°C. Expect highs from 7°C to 11°C over the rest of the week, with Thursday the warmest. Athy’s November average makes a useful yardstick: afternoons reach 11°C, nights fall to 4°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 223 mm |
| Spring | 14°C | 5°C | 169 mm |
| Summer | 20°C | 11°C | 198 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 245 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
13% of residents are 65 or over, above Co. Kildare’s towns (9.9%) but below Irish towns (14%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 13% of residents.
51.1% of Athy’s residents are women
5,640 women and 5,395 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Athy | Co. Kildare | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 23% | 23% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 31% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 13% | 9.9% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 12% | 6.5% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 17% | 12% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 41% | 33% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.1% | 6.4% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 23% | 43% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Kildare and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Kildare County Council has no ruling majority: Fianna Fáil hold 12 of its 40 seats, short of the 21 needed. Local government for Athy is Kildare County Council alone; Ireland has a single tier. General election turnout: 58%, about level with Irish towns (59%) and below Co. Kildare’s towns (60%).
| Turnout | Athy | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 60% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 47% | 45% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Scaled to its population, that is 161 inventory buildings for every 10,000 people in Athy. The Sites and Monuments Record lists 26 sites here, above both Co. Kildare’s towns (10) and Irish towns (11). The pre-1919 share of homes is 3.3%.
| Heritage | Athy | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 161 | 50 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 26 | 10 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Under 1% of homes in Athy are estimated to have radon above the reference level. Landslides: none of Athy lies in a high-susceptibility zone.
| Share of homes | Athy | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 22% | 2.1% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 1% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Athy. Best known first.
CastleWhites Castlein town
MuseumShackleton Experiencein town
CastleRheban Castle4 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumTown Hallin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Athy’s built heritage counts 178 inventory entries; 5 carry national or international standing. The national record lists 26 archaeological sites in and around the town.
11 notable people were born in Athy.
George Lyttleton Rogers: Unknown (Bassano Ltd), Public domain · Eric Donovan: HuntGroup, CC BY-SA 4.0 · James Quinn: Brisbane City Council, CC BY 2.0 · John Vincent Holland: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athy | 11,035 | — | C− | A | C | D |
| Ballylinan Laois | 1,167 | 6.5 | — | A− | B+ | C |
| Stradbally Laois | 1,404 | 11 | — | A− | B− | D |
| Castledermot | 1,685 | 13 | — | A− | B | C+ |
| Carlow Carlow | 27,351 | 18 | C− | B | C+ | D |
| Monasterevin | 5,307 | 18 | B+ | A− | B | C |
| Curragh Camp | 1,076 | 19 | — | B | C | D |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Athy had 11,035 people at the 2022 census, up from 9,997 in 2016: 10.4% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Athy is 36.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
6% mostly work from home, and 28% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Kildare
Athy has 11,035 people, in the area of Kildare 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).