Photo: William Murphy · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 33.2: Maynooth is younger than 92% of Irish towns
Where nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone across Ireland’s towns, Maynooth has 15%. Meanwhile, 13% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, a higher share than in 84% of Irish towns. Its population is up 17% on 2016. Locally, 61% of residents said they are Catholic.
What stands out about the people of Maynooth
A student town
19% of residents aged 15 and over are students, more than in 97% of Irish towns; Ireland’s towns 10%. 18% of residents are 15 to 24. Social class & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Maynooth’s residents are under 33.2 and half over; the typical median across Irish towns is 37.6. 18% are 15 to 24 and 7.8% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
14% of residents lived somewhere else a year before the Census, 1.8 times the share across Ireland’s towns; 3.5% came from abroad. Social class & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Maynooth grew +17% from 2016 to 2022, faster than 84% 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, half of towns changed by more than +8%; across Co. Kildare’s towns, by more than +14%.
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 95% of Irish towns: 18%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The largest age band is 20–24: 11% of residents, 1.9 times the share across Ireland’s towns. Maynooth has fewer residents aged 65 and over than 88% of Irish towns, at 7.8%.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Maynooth, 33.2. The typical town is 37.6.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Kildare 51.0%, Ireland 51.2%.
A higher share of students among residents 15 and over than 97% of Irish towns, at 19%
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
Among the working population, professional occupations make up 35%, against a typical 21%. As a yardstick, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns. Across Maynooth, 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Larger households than 84% of Irish towns: 3 people on average
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Kildare’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Across Maynooth, 44% of households are parents with children.
In Maynooth, 12% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 72% 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
96% of households are on broadband; 2.6% have no internet connection (typical: 7.6%). As a reference point, 17% of households have no car or van across Ireland’s towns. Here, 18% of households live in a flat or apartment. Lower than in 54% of Irish towns: 0.2% of homes are holiday homes.
Median household income: €89,220 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
The median household earns €89,220 gross, 48% more than the Ireland median (€60,120). Co. Kildare’s median household income is €73,000.
Residents born outside Ireland: 28%, a higher share than 72% 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 35%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
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, 22% use another language, chiefly Polish (2.7%), and 2% speak English not well or not at all. 19% of residents are citizens of another country, more than in 72% of Irish towns.
2.2% of residents speak Irish daily outside education, more than in 94% of Irish towns
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
The ability to speak Irish extends to 7,463 residents (48% of those aged 3 and over). It is the highest share of Co. Kildare’s 14 towns of 2,500+. For comparison, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
More residents with no religion than 83% of Irish towns: 25%
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: 73% of Maynooth · Co. Kildare’s towns 77% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
After White Irish, the most common groups are Other White (15%), Asian or Asian Irish (6.1%) and Other, including mixed (3%). Residents who describe themselves as White Irish are rarer here than in nearly two thirds of Irish towns. Across Ireland’s towns, residents with no religion come to 17%.
Only 4.1% of residents give unpaid care in Maynooth
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.
34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns, against 36% in Maynooth. Unpaid carers make up 5.4% across Ireland’s towns.
Maynooth sits above 93% of Irish towns for adults with a degree or higher (61%)
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
26% of residents 15 and over are still in education. As a reference point, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
The 4th youngest of 41 towns of 14,412 to 20,608 people
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest is Castletroy (29) and the oldest Ballinteer (44.1). Nearest to Maynooth in age: East Wall (31.2), The Liberties (32.5), Stoneybatter (33.4) and Esker (33.5).
Among its 6 nearest neighbours, 5 are older than Maynooth
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Kildare’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Kildare’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 Maynooth’s residents
What is the population of Maynooth?
Maynooth had 17,259 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 17% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Maynooth?
The median age is 33.2, younger than 92% of Irish towns. 23% are under 18 and 7.8% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Maynooth?
48% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (7,463 people), and 2.2% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Maynooth?
73% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 28% were born abroad and 19% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Maynooth?
61% are Catholic, 25% have no religion and 14% another religion; 6.4% didn’t say.
Is Maynooth good for families?
44% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 23% of residents are under 18. Schools near Maynooth are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Maynooth?
Median gross household income in Maynooth was €89,220 in 2022, against €73,000 across Co. Kildare 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).