Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Between 2016 and 2022, its population grew by 11%. A town of 6,269 in Co. Kildare.
Sallins’s overall grade of A puts it better than 93% of Irish towns, #23 of 320 Irish towns. Where it does best is jobs & income — jobs reach 71% of 15 to 64s, and unemployment is 6%. Housing is within reach: set against the median household income, the median home, at €359,500, costs 4.5 times as much. The rest of its grades are middling: B for safety, B for walkability and B for hazard risk.
Figures: work and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · radon, EPA.
The 3 things Sallins does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Sallins 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 →
2 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
1% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sallins.
Pupil numbers changed +8% since 2019/20, above both Co. Kildare’s towns (+6%) and Irish towns (+4%). Within 3 km of Sallins there are 9 schools (5 primary schools and 4 secondary schools). For secondary school, the closest is Naas Community College, 2.3 km from the town.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Laurences National SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 646 | Catholic |
| Coláiste Naomh Mhuire GirlsLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 1,076 | Catholic |
| Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara GaelcholáisteTeaches through IrishPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 401 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Sallins | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-sex secondaries | 50% | 10% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 7% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 11% | 6% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +8% | +6% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · These schools carry no letter or result: Ireland doesn’t release them school by school.
Unemployment stood at 6.4%, near Co. Kildare’s towns (6.4%) and lower than Irish towns (9.2%). A household here earns €79,060 a year before tax, on average. At the census, 14% of workers worked mainly from home.
| Census 2022 | Sallins | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 33.9 min | 32.2 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €79,060 | €73,828 | €57,760 |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 22% | 28% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.4% | 6.4% | 9.2% |
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.
23% rent privately, above Co. Kildare’s towns (18%) and Irish towns (22%) alike. Social renters account for 11% of households. Owners make up nearly two thirds of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €360,000 | 173 |
| The last 12 months | €420,500 | 62 |
| Housing | Sallins | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 23% | 18% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 65% | 70% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 11% | 9% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €360K | €415K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Self-reported good health: 92% of Sallins’ residents. 18% of residents have a disability, lower than both Co. Kildare’s towns (21%) and Irish towns (22%). On top of that, at the census, 1.4% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2022 | Sallins | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 92% | 91% | 88% |
| With a disability | 18% | 21% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.4% | 1.5% | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 4.9% | 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
The EPA estimates that 2% of homes in Sallins are above the radon reference level. 4.3% of homes stand low near a river, higher than both Co. Kildare’s towns (2.1%) and Irish towns (0.5%). Landslides: none of Sallins lies in a high-susceptibility zone.
| Share of homes | Sallins | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 4.3% | 2.1% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
July afternoons reach 20.1°C here, near Co. Kildare’s towns (20.0°C) and higher than Irish towns (19.9°C). The annual mean in Sallins is 9.9°C. Midwinter nights in Sallins bottom out at 2.0°C on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Sallins | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.0°C | 2.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.9°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 20.1°C | 20.0°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 838 mm | 857 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
70% of homes are within 400 m of green space, lower than both Co. Kildare’s towns (79%) and Irish towns (92%). Green space comes to 0.6 ha for every 1,000 people in Sallins. A waymarked trail or greenway begins within 5 km.
| Outdoors | Sallins | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 70% | 79% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.8% | 2.8% | 2.7% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0% | 0.5% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 1.6 km per km² | 0.9 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
The heaviest rain of the week is due on Tuesday, around 5 mm. What counts as normal for Sallins in November: highs come to 11°C and lows to 4°C. Today stays dry but breezy, with wind up to 24 km/h and a low of 9°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 214 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 170 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 208 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 246 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
People 65 and over make up 5.3% of the town, below both Co. Kildare’s towns (10%) and Irish towns (14%). Degrees are held by 48% of adults.
51.1% of Sallins’ residents are women
3,201 women and 3,068 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Sallins | Co. Kildare | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 24% | 23% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 33% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 5.3% | 10% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 5.1% | 8.2% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 9.7% | 13% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 31% | 35% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.9% | 6.3% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 48% | 35% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Kildare and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
With 12 of 40 seats, Fianna Fáil are the largest group on Kildare County Council, short of the 21 a majority needs. There is just one council for Sallins, Kildare County Council: Ireland has only one tier of local government. In the Dáil, Sallins is part of Kildare North, which elects 5 TDs.
| Turnout | Sallins | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 60% | 60% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 47% | 45% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
For its size, Sallins has 37 inventory buildings per 10,000 residents, lower than both Co. Kildare’s towns (51) and Irish towns (48). Beneath and around the town lie 2 recorded archaeological sites. Also worth knowing: 1.3% of homes date from before 1919.
| Heritage | Sallins | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 37 | 51 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 2 | 16 | 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
Every year, 64.8 crimes are recorded per 1,000 residents. For its size, Sallins records less crime per resident than 70% of the 201 Irish towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Assaults and harassment topped the graded crimes in Sallins (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 | Sallins | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 64.8 | 41.3 | 54.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 4.8 | 4.2 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 4.1 | 3.8 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Sallins. Best known first.
Historic houseJigginstown Castle3.1 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumMondello Park Racing Circuit4.7 km outside town, to the westHistoric houseHistoric houseBodenstown Graveyard700 m outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumMuseum of Motorsport4.6 km outside town, to the westArt galleryArt galleryTuckmill Gallery2.5 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
23 of Sallins’ buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 2 archaeological sites in and around the town.
2 notable people were born in Sallins; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Charles Handy: einalem, CC BY-SA 2.0 · John de Robeck: Unknown photographer, Public domain · Liam O'Flynn: Ganainm, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fionnuala Sherry: paddynapper, CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
Sallins had 6,269 people at the 2022 census, up from 5,675 in 2016: 10.5% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Sallins is 34.8, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Kildare
Sallins has 6,269 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).