Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
78 of its buildings are on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. The town has 2,678 residents and lies in Co. Kilkenny.
A strong record with one exception. It is a safe place by the numbers: burglary and criminal damage run at 3.3 per 1,000 residents a year, violent crime at 2.7. Callan’s overall grade of A+ puts it better than 98% of Irish towns, #7 of 320 Irish towns. Prices are modest for what you get: set against the median household income, the median home, at €288,900, costs 5.6 times as much. What holds it back is walkability (C) — 16% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train, against 23% in the typical Irish town. The rest of its grades are middling: B for health and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · commuting, health and work, CSO Census 2022.
Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level.
The 3 things Callan does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Callan 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 →
The register holds 78 buildings on the National Inventory in Callan, 2 of them of national importance.
84 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Callan.
Every year, 19.9 crimes are recorded per 1,000 residents. The graded crime recorded most in Callan was assaults and harassment (2023–2025). Thefts came to 3 per 1,000 a year (not part of the grade), below Irish towns (15.3).
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 | Callan | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 3.3 | – | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 19.9 | – | 54.3 |
| Violent crime | 2.7 | – | 5.7 |
| Theft | 3 | – | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Rent averaged €1,067 a month, lower than Irish towns (€1,606). The private rented sector houses 18% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €305,400 | 35 |
| Second-hand homes | €240,000 | 98 |
| The last 12 months | €345,000 | 72 |
| Housing | Callan | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,067 | – | €1,606 |
| Households in social housing | 20% | – | 13% |
| Median sale price | €289K | – | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 18% | – | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Under 1% of homes in Callan are estimated to have radon above the reference level. Landslides: none of Callan lies in a high-susceptibility zone.
| Share of homes | Callan | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 19% | – | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | – | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 1.8% of the town. Allowing for its ages, Callan has 107 residents with a disability per 100 expected, in line with Irish towns (106).
| Census 2022 | Callan | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 1.8% | – | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.2% | – | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Families in Callan have 2 schools within 3 km to choose from: 1 primary school and 1 secondary school. For secondary school, the closest is Coláiste Abhainn Rí, 0.5 km from the town.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bunscoil McAuley Rice Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 406 | Catholic |
| Coláiste Abhainn RíLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 706 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Callan | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | – | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | – | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +18% | – | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | – | 8% |
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.
A July afternoon in Callan typically reaches 20.2°C. October is the wettest month in the town, with 99 mm of rain on average. Averaged across the seasons, Callan sits at 10.2°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Callan | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.3°C | – | 2.9°C |
| July high | 20.2°C | – | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.2°C | – | 10.3°C |
| Rain a year | 906 mm | – | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Within 400 m of green space: 100% of homes. Green space in Callan adds up to 12 ha, in one park. Protected nature near Callan includes River Barrow. Woodland covers 0.1% of the land within 1 km, lower than Irish towns (2.7%).
| Outdoors | Callan | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.1% | – | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.7 km per km² | – | 2.1 km per km² |
| Near a park | 100% | – | 92% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Callan’s November pattern is steady: afternoons average 11°C, nights 4°C. Any rain today should be slight, with the wind no stronger than 16 km/h and a low of 7°C. Between 6°C and 10°C: that is the range of daytime highs from here to the end of the week, with Thursday on top.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 246 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 189 mm |
| Summer | 20°C | 11°C | 207 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 265 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
27% of adults hold a degree. Daily Irish speakers outside school: 0.5%, lower than Irish towns (1.1%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are just over a tenth of the population.
51.3% of Callan’s residents are women
1,373 women and 1,305 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Callan | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 24% | – | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | – | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | – | 29% |
| 45–64 | 24% | – | 24% |
| 65+ | 14% | – | 14% |
| Primary or none | 13% | – | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 16% | – | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 37% | – | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.1% | – | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 27% | – | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Kilkenny and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Callan answers to one council, Kilkenny County Council; Ireland has no town tier. There is no majority on Kilkenny County Council; Fianna Fáil have the most seats, 11 of 24, short of 13. In the Dáil, Callan is part of Carlow-Kilkenny, which elects 5 TDs.
| Turnout | Callan | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 54% | – | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | – | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
11.2% of homes were built before 1919. 84 archaeological sites are on the record, higher than Irish towns (11). Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 78 buildings in Callan, 2 of national or international importance.
| Heritage | Callan | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 291 | – | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 84 | – | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 11.2% | – | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Working mainly from home: nearly one in ten workers, below Irish towns (11%). The commute to work averages 24.4 min. At the census, 75% of commuters went by car.
| Census 2022 | Callan | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 39% | – | 31% |
| Average trip | 24.4 min | – | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €51,328 | – | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 10% | – | 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.
One place to visit is mapped within 5 km of Callan; with it, the best known within 40 km.
CastleKilkenny Castle15 km northeast
CastleRock of Cashel34 km west
CathedralSaint Marys Cathedral15 km northeast
Abbey or priory · Office of Public WorksJerpoint Abbey16 km east
CathedralSt Canice's Cathedral and Round Tower15 km northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 78 buildings in Callan, 2 of national or international importance. 84 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
16 notable people were born in Callan.
Edmund Ignatius Rice: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Mary Joseph Butler: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Michael Cudahy: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Patrick Cudahy: Klein & Guttenstein, Milwaukee, Public domain · Rory O'Tunny: Scummy at English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Callan | 2,678 | — | A+ | A− | A | B |
| Kilkenny | 27,184 | 15 | B+ | B+ | C | B |
| Thomastown | 2,305 | 17 | — | B | B+ | C− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Callan had 2,678 people at the 2022 census, up from 2,386 in 2016: 12.2% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Callan is 37.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Kilkenny
2,678 people live in Callan, in the area of Kilkenny 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).