Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 17,259 residents and lies in Co. Kildare. The population grew 17% between 2016 and 2022.
Maynooth does the important things well, at a cost. Its best grade is for health (A): bad health runs at 73 and disability at 98 per 100 expected for its ages. With an A overall, Maynooth is better than 91% of Irish towns and ranks #29 of 320 Irish towns. Prices are high against local incomes: homes sell for a median €475,000, about 5.3 times what a household here earns in a year.
Figures: health, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO.
The 3 things Maynooth does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Maynooth 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 →
18 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
1% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Maynooth. Best known first.
CastleMaynooth Castlein town
MuseumNational Science Museum at Maynoothin town
Historic house · Office of Public WorksCastletown House3.7 km outside town, to the southeast
CastleBarberstown Castle4.8 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionRussell Libraryin townVisitor farmVisitor farmClonfert Farm4.4 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Maynooth.
Single-sex secondaries: 20%, higher than Co. Kildare’s towns (13%) yet lower than Irish towns (39%). Families in Maynooth have 12 schools within 3 km to choose from: 6 primary schools, 5 secondary schools and 1 special school. For secondary school, the closest is Gaelcholáiste Mhaigh Nuad, 0.3 km from the town.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aghards N.S.Largest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 660 | Catholic |
| Maynooth Post Primary SchoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 1,018 | Multi-denominational |
| Scoil Ui Fhiaich GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 459 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Maynooth | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 25% | 6% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +23% | +6% | +4% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 7% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 20% | 13% | 39% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Letters and results are missing here for a reason: Ireland publishes neither school by school.
Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 1% of the town. 18% of residents have a disability, below both Co. Kildare’s towns (21%) and Irish towns (22%). Family carers: 4.1% of the people in Maynooth look after someone without pay.
| Census 2022 | Maynooth | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 93% | 91% | 88% |
| Unpaid carers | 4.1% | 4.9% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1% | 1.5% | 2% |
| With a disability | 18% | 21% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Radon: an estimated 1.9% of homes in Maynooth are over the reference level. No part of Maynooth is mapped as high landslide susceptibility. Low ground by water holds almost none of its homes.
| Share of homes | Maynooth | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 4.3% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Burglary and damage came to 3.8 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Co. Kildare’s towns (4.2) and Irish towns (6.4). For its size, Maynooth records less crime per resident than 86% of the 118 Irish towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Also worth knowing: more of the graded crimes locally were assaults and harassment than anything else (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 | Maynooth | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 3.8 | 4.2 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 3.3 | 4.1 | 5.7 |
| Theft | 17.2 | 10.8 | 15.3 |
| All recorded crime | 41.3 | 44.1 | 54.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Social housing holds 5% of households. Renting cost €1,942 a month on average, higher than both Co. Kildare’s towns (€1,548) and Irish towns (€1,606). In 2010 the typical home in Maynooth sold for €261K; by 2025 it was €502K, 92% more. Only one of the 14 towns in Co. Kildare costs more to buy into than Maynooth, whose median sale is €475,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €530,000 | 150 |
| Second-hand homes | €422,000 | 469 |
| The last 12 months | €520,000 | 160 |
| Housing | Maynooth | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 5% | 11% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 31% | 18% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €475K | €401K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,942 | €1,548 | €1,606 |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
A household here earns €89,223 a year before tax, on average. The car took 56% of commuters, below both Co. Kildare’s towns (71%) and Irish towns (66%). The commute to work averages 33.6 min.
| Census 2022 | Maynooth | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €89,223 | €73,828 | €57,760 |
| Average trip | 33.6 min | 32.2 min | 27.6 min |
| Unemployment rate | 5.4% | 6.4% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 68% | 71% | 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.
A year brings 823 mm of rain to Maynooth. July afternoons reach 20.1°C here, about level with Co. Kildare’s towns (20.0°C) and above Irish towns (19.9°C). Across the year, Maynooth averages 10.0°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Maynooth | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.1°C | 2.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.0°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 20.1°C | 20.0°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 823 mm | 857 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Maynooth counts 3 parks, adding up to 33 ha of green space. Protected nature near Maynooth includes Rye Water Valley/Carton SAC. Green space lies within 400 m of 85% of homes. Woodland covers 3.9% of the land within 1 km, higher than both Co. Kildare’s towns (2.1%) and Irish towns (2.7%).
| Outdoors | Maynooth | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paths per km² of town | 3.7 km per km² | 0.9 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Woodland within 1 km | 3.9% | 2.1% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 85% | 78% | 92% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
20% are under 15, about level with Irish towns (20%) and below Co. Kildare’s towns (23%). Those 65 and older account for 7.8% of residents. Degrees are held by just over three in five adults.
49.9% of Maynooth’s residents are women
8,607 women and 8,652 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Maynooth | Co. Kildare | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 23% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 18% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 34% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 21% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 7.8% | 10% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 4.2% | 8.2% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 5.8% | 13% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 24% | 35% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.7% | 6.4% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 61% | 35% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Kildare and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Kildare County Council is the council for Maynooth, and the only one: Ireland has a single tier of local government. There is no majority on Kildare County Council; Fianna Fáil have the most seats, 12 of 40, short of 21. In the Dáil, Maynooth is part of Kildare North, which elects 5 TDs.
| Turnout | Maynooth | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 60% | 60% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 45% | 45% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Relative to its size, Maynooth keeps 56 buildings on the inventory per 10,000 residents, above both Co. Kildare’s towns (50) and Irish towns (48). Its archaeology runs to 18 recorded sites. Before 1919: that is when 1.3% of homes were built.
| Heritage | Maynooth | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 56 | 50 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 18 | 10 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 1.3% | 1.6% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Maynooth has 96 buildings on the national inventory of architectural heritage, 4 of them rated of national or international importance. The national record lists 18 archaeological sites in and around the town.
9 notable people were born in Maynooth.
Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare: Unknown author Unknown author artist, Public domain · Domhnall Ua Buachalla: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · James Duggan: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Elizabeth FitzGerald, Countess of Lincoln: Master of the Countess of Warwick, Public domain · George Barrington: G. Kearsley, Fleet Street, Public domain · William Caine: police.gov.hk, Public domain
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
Maynooth had 17,259 people at the 2022 census, up from 14,742 in 2016: 17.1% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Maynooth is 33.2, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 20% of residents are under 15 and 8% are 65 or over.
Urban area in Co. Kildare
Maynooth has 17,259 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).