Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
462 people live in this town in Co. Laois.
Ballinakill takes 4.3 years of the median household income to buy the median home, at €277,300. The car is not the only way to work here: 6% of commuters walk, cycle or use public transport. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records 10 buildings here. Just over a tenth of people here were born outside Ireland.
There are no grades for Ballinakill: Irish towns need 1,000 residents for them.
The 3 things Ballinakill does most differently from other towns.
The register holds 10 buildings on the National Inventory in Ballinakill, one of them of national importance.
7 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ballinakill.
By estimate, fewer than one home in a hundred in Ballinakill has radon above the reference level. No part of Ballinakill is mapped as high landslide susceptibility. Very few of its homes sit on low ground by water.
| Share of homes | Ballinakill | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Ballinakill sees July afternoons of 19.7°C on average. Across the year it averages 9.5°C, lower than both Co. Laois’ towns (9.9°C) and Irish towns (10.3°C). October is the wettest month here, with 101 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ballinakill | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average temperature over the year | 9.5°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 1.7°C | 2.0°C | 2.9°C |
| July high | 19.7°C | 20.1°C | 19.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Ages taken into account, Ballinakill counts 109 people with a disability for every 100 predicted. For its ages, Ballinakill has 96 people in bad health for every 100 expected, below both Co. Laois’ towns (154) and Irish towns (113). Disability touches 25% of the town’s population.
| Census 2022 | Ballinakill | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 6.3% | 5.2% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 25% | 25% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2% | 2.4% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 87% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Home ownership stands at four in five households. 10% live in social housing, lower than both Co. Laois’ towns (16%) and Irish towns (13%).
| Housing | Ballinakill | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 80% | 63% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 8% | 19% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 10% | 16% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €277K | €251K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area R32, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Among the protected sites near Ballinakill is River Barrow. Within 5 km, 3.6% of the land is protected nature, higher than both Co. Laois’ towns (1.6%) and Irish towns (1.8%). 100% of homes have green space within 400 m.
| Outdoors | Ballinakill | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 100% | 71% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 6.3% | 2.5% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.1 km per km² | 0.6 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 3.6% | 1.6% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
For Ballinakill, a normal November afternoon peaks at 10°C, and a normal night bottoms out at 3°C. Around 2 mm of rain is due today, with a light wind of up to 9 km/h and a low of 4°C. Plan indoor things for Thursday, when about 17 mm of rain is forecast.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 253 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 4°C | 189 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 10°C | 227 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 6°C | 278 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Household income came to €65,020 a year before tax, above both Co. Laois’ towns (€52,817) and Irish towns (€57,760). Driving is how 83% of commuters got to work at the census. Unemployment runs at 7%.
| Census 2022 | Ballinakill | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 47% | 37% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 7% | 12% | 9.2% |
| Average trip | 26.2 min | 30.4 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €65,020 | €52,817 | €57,760 |
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.
People aged 15 to 24 are just over a tenth of the population. Children under 15 make up 18%, below both Co. Laois’ towns (23%) and Irish towns (20%).
46.1% of Ballinakill’s residents are women
213 women and 249 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ballinakill | Co. Laois | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 23% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 19% | 10% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 12% | 11% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 20% | 17% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 41% | 41% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 3.6% | 6.3% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 23% | 23% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Laois and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Laois County Council runs Ballinakill: Ireland has one tier of local government, with no town council below it. Fianna Fáil lead Laois County Council with 6 of 19 seats, but no party has a majority: 10 are needed. Turnout at the last local elections was 48%, below Co. Laois’ towns (51%) but above Irish towns (46%).
| Turnout | Ballinakill | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 48% | 51% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 21.3% of the total, higher than both Co. Laois’ towns (5.1%) and Irish towns (3.4%). Archaeologists have recorded 7 sites here. Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 10 buildings in Ballinakill, 1 of national or international importance.
| Heritage | Ballinakill | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 216 | 79 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 21.3% | 5.1% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 7 | 14 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Families in Ballinakill have 2 schools within 3 km to choose from: 1 primary school and 1 secondary school. For secondary school, the closest is Heywood Community School, 1.2 km from the town.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballinakill Mixed N.S.Largest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 98 | Catholic |
| Heywood Community SchoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 749 | Inter-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Ballinakill | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 15% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +1% | +10% | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 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.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Ballinakill. Best known first.
Garden · Office of Public WorksHeywood House Gardens500 m outside town, to the northeastGardenGardenHeywood Gardens600 m outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumAbbeyleix Heritage House4.6 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumThe Irish Fly Fishing and Game Museum4.8 km outside town, to the southwestArt galleryArt galleryBramley4.3 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 10 buildings in Ballinakill, 1 of national or international importance. The national record lists 7 archaeological sites in and around the town.
3 notable people were born in Ballinakill.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballinakill | 462 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Abbeyleix | 1,897 | 5 | — | A− | A+ | B+ |
| Ballyragget Kilkenny | 1,116 | 9.9 | — | A− | A | C |
| Castlecomer Kilkenny | 1,496 | 11 | — | A | A | D |
| Mountrath | 2,070 | 18 | — | A | B− | C− |
| Portlaoise | 23,494 | 18 | C− | B+ | D | C− |
| Stradbally | 1,404 | 19 | — | A− | B− | D |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
10% mostly work from home, and 47% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Ballinakill had 462 people at the 2022 census, up from 455 in 2016: 1.5% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Ballinakill is 44.8, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Laois
462 people live in Ballinakill, in the area of Laois 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). 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).