Photo: Zairon · CC BY 4.0Fewer car-free households than 99% of Irish towns: 1%
In Kells, 92% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, beside 78% across Ireland’s towns. More residents aged 15 to 24 than in 87% of Irish towns: 15%. The 2022 Census counted 291 residents in 102 households. For Kells, the census puts households of parents with children at 53%.
+5% since 2016, a pace below 65% 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 Co. Kilkenny’s towns the median is +4%, and across Ireland’s towns +8%.
Older than 87% of Irish towns: half of Kells is over 41.5
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 15–19 than any other five-year age: 10% of residents, 1.7 times the share across Ireland’s towns. The census found that 14% of residents are 65 or over in Kells.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 111 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Kilkenny 51.2%, Ireland 51.2%.
Kells ranks above 92% of Irish towns on students among residents 15 and over: 15%
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
Professional occupations stand out among workers: 30%, against a typical 21%. 2.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Elsewhere, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
Fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 99% of Irish towns: 1%
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.
Households average 2.9 people, against 2.7 across Ireland’s towns. Lower than in 93% of Irish towns: 15% of households are one person living alone. By way of comparison, 4.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Ireland’s towns.
Households in flats make up 1% in Kells, less than in 98% 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
Most homes are connected: 91% have broadband, and 5.1% have no internet (typical: 7.6%). Elsewhere, 12% of households live in a flat or apartment across Ireland’s towns. Holiday homes: 1.7% of the total.
€69,830 a year is the median household income here
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Households here have a median gross income of €69,830, 16% higher than across Ireland (€60,120). Countywide in Co. Kilkenny, the median is €58,190.
7.3% of residents are citizens of another country, fewer than in 93% 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 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.
Polish leads the languages spoken at home (4.5%), among the 8.9% who speak another language there; 1.4% speak English not well or not at all. Across the comparison, 15% of residents are citizens of another country across Ireland’s towns. Residents born outside Ireland are rarer here than in 88% of Irish towns.
Of Kells’s residents, 57% can speak Irish
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 157 residents (57% of those aged 3 and over). In Co. Kilkenny, Kilkenny has the highest share (1.3%). Daily speakers of Irish outside education: 1.1%, near enough the figure across Ireland’s towns.
Residents who said they are Catholic: 80%, a higher share than 91% 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: 92% of Kells · Co. Kilkenny’s towns 86% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White Irish, most residents describe themselves as Other White (7.7%), Black or Black Irish (0.4%) and Other, including mixed (0.4%). Residents who said they are Catholic: 71% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison. Compared with other places, residents with no religion are scarce here: 12%, fewer than in 84% of Irish towns.
Married residents 15 and over make up 44% in Kells, more than in 98% of Irish towns
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.
With unpaid carers at 6.9%, Kells is ahead of 96% of Irish towns on that count. Measured more widely, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Above 72% of Irish towns: 47% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
A postgraduate qualification is the highest level for 24% of adults; primary level or less for 5.3% (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). Students still in education make up 18% of residents 15 and over. Across Ireland’s towns, the share of adults with a degree or higher is 36%.
Every neighbour of Kells has a younger population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kells | 291 | — | 41.5 | 14% | 53% |
| Callan | 2,678 | 7.6 km | 37.6 | 14% | 48% |
| Thomastown | 2,305 | 9.1 km | 40.6 | 15% | 49% |
| Kilkenny | 27,184 | 13.0 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 Kells’s residents
What is the population of Kells?
Kells had 291 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Kells?
The median age is 41.5. 23% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Kells?
57% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (157 people), and 1.1% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Kells?
92% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 14% were born abroad and 7.3% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Kells?
80% are Catholic, 12% have no religion and 7.6% another religion; 0.7% didn’t say.
Is Kells good for families?
53% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 23% of residents are under 18. Schools near Kells are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Kells?
Median gross household income in Kells was €69,830 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).