Photo: Sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.0Below 95% of Irish towns: 3.3% of households live in a flat or apartment
89% of residents describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%). Castlecomer had 1,496 residents in 605 households at the 2022 Census. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 19%. Lower than in 85% of Irish towns: 2.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Slower growth than 77% of Irish towns: Castlecomer changed by +3% since 2016
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.
Set beside +8% across Ireland’s towns and +4% across Co. Kilkenny’s towns.
Older than 81% of Irish towns: half of Castlecomer is over 40.5
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Castlecomer sits close to the norm on residents aged 15 to 24: 12%, about the same as across Ireland’s towns. The largest age band is 40–44: 7.5% of residents.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Kilkenny 51.2%, Ireland 51.2%.
In Castlecomer, 8.1% of residents 15 and over are students, fewer than in 92% of Irish towns
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
Where 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Ireland’s towns, Castlecomer has 8.9%. The wider picture: 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
Castlecomer households average 2.5 people, smaller than in 80% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Kilkenny’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
In Castlecomer, 28% of households are one person living alone, beside 24% across Ireland’s towns. For Castlecomer, the census puts households of parents with children at 47%.
More households without a car or van than 69% of Irish towns: 22%
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
With holiday homes at 1.2%, Castlecomer is ahead of 88% of Irish towns on that count. About one household in 5 lives without a car or van, the highest share in Co. Kilkenny.
Half above, half below €51,640 a year in household income
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Half of households are below €51,640 a year before tax: 14% under the Ireland median (€60,120). Across Co. Kilkenny, the middle household has €58,190.
A smaller share of residents with another country’s citizenship than 95% of Irish towns: 6.7%
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 30%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
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.
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the UK (6%) and in India (2.6%). Set beside that, 15% of residents are citizens of another country across Ireland’s towns. Fewer residents born outside Ireland than in 90% of Irish towns: 13%.
Castlecomer sits below 96% of Irish towns for daily speakers of Irish outside education (0.5%)
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
Kilkenny leads Co. Kilkenny with 1.3%. Measured more widely, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
83% of residents said they are Catholic, more than in 95% of Irish towns
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: 89% of Castlecomer · Co. Kilkenny’s towns 86% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
After White Irish, the largest groups are Other White (4.8%), Asian or Asian Irish (3.9%) and Other, including mixed (1.5%). One in ten residents said they have no religion, a lower share than in 92% of Irish towns. The wider picture: 71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns.
Castlecomer ranks above 85% of Irish towns on unpaid carers: 6.3%
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.
Across Castlecomer, 34% of residents 15 and over are married. About 90 residents (6.3%) give regular unpaid care (Ireland’s towns 5.4%).
20% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, below 89% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
5.3% of Castlecomer’s adults hold a postgraduate qualification, and 18% finished their education at primary level or earlier (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). For comparison, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
2 of the 3 nearest towns are older than Castlecomer
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlecomer | 1,496 | — | 40.5 | 19% | 47% |
| Ballyragget | 1,116 | 8.1 km | 41.9 | 22% | 47% |
| Abbeyleix | 1,897 | 15.6 km | 41.4 | 18% | 43% |
| Kilkenny | 27,184 | 16.4 km | 38.9 | 15% | 39% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Kilkenny’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Co. Kilkenny has fewer than five towns of 2,500 or more, so its figure is the median of its towns of 1,000 or more; the national figure is the median of 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 Castlecomer’s residents
What is the population of Castlecomer?
Castlecomer had 1,496 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Castlecomer?
The median age is 40.5. 21% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Castlecomer?
33% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (448 people), and 0.5% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Castlecomer?
89% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 13% were born abroad and 6.7% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Castlecomer?
83% are Catholic, 10% have no religion and 6.9% another religion; 4.7% didn’t say.
Is Castlecomer good for families?
47% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 21% of residents are under 18. Schools near Castlecomer are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Castlecomer?
Median gross household income in Castlecomer was €51,640 in 2022, against €58,190 across Co. Kilkenny 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).