Photo: sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 45.3: Ballycolla is older than 98% of Irish towns
Here 85% of residents said they are Catholic, where the figure across Ireland’s towns is 71%. Census day 2022: 133 residents and 51 households in Ballycolla. The census found that one in ten households have no car or van here. Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in 99% of Irish towns.
A +2% change since 2016: slower than 81% 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 Ireland’s towns, the typical town changed +8%; across Co. Laois’ towns, +8%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 98% of Irish towns: 26%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
60–64 is the most common age band: 11% of residents, 2.4 times the share across Ireland’s towns. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 98% of Irish towns: 9%. As a yardstick, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Laois 50.9%, Ireland 51.2%.
A smaller share of students among residents 15 and over than 99% of Irish towns: 5.4%
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
32% of Ballycolla’s residents are in the professional, managerial and technical classes and 17% in the semi-skilled and unskilled classes, against 34% and 15% across Ireland’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 6.1% locally.
Smaller households than 63% of Irish towns: 2.6 people on average
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Laois’ towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Across Ireland’s towns, 43% of households are parents with children; in Ballycolla, 45%. Here, nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone.
100% of homes are houses
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
Holiday homes are rarer here than in 93% of Irish towns. Most homes are connected: 81% have broadband, and 19% have no internet (typical: 7.6%).
Before tax, the median household income is €57,540 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
A median gross household income of €57,540 sits close to Ireland (€60,120). County median: €59,520 (Co. Laois).
In Ballycolla, 5.3% of residents are citizens of another country, fewer than in 98% 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.
By its share of residents born outside Ireland (13%), Ballycolla is below 92% of Irish towns. Elsewhere, 15% of residents are citizens of another country across Ireland’s towns.
25% of Ballycolla 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
Top of Co. Laois: Abbeyleix, at 1.4%. Daily speakers of Irish outside education are rarer here than in 99% of Irish towns.
94% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, more than in 99% 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: 94% of Ballycolla · Co. Laois’ towns 84% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Here just over one in ten residents said they have no religion, where the figure across Ireland’s towns is 17%. By way of comparison, 78% of residents describe themselves as White Irish across Ireland’s towns.
Married residents 15 and over: 42%, a higher share than 95% 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.
In Ballycolla, 5.3% of residents give unpaid care. Against that, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
26% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, below 76% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Postgraduate qualifications are held by 4.9% of adults here, while 21% stopped at primary level or earlier (9.7% across Ireland’s towns). Across Ireland’s towns, the share of adults with a degree or higher is 36%.
Every neighbour of Ballycolla 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballycolla | 133 | — | 45.3 | 26% | 45% |
| Abbeyleix | 1,897 | 7.8 km | 41.4 | 18% | 43% |
| Rathdowney | 1,368 | 10.2 km | 37.4 | 17% | 43% |
| Ballyragget | 1,116 | 13.1 km | 41.9 | 22% | 47% |
| Mountrath | 2,070 | 13.2 km | 35.8 | 13% | 47% |
| Castlecomer | 1,496 | 18.3 km | 40.5 | 19% | 47% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Laois’ towns and Ireland’s towns. Co. Laois 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 Ballycolla’s residents
What is the population of Ballycolla?
Ballycolla had 133 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Ballycolla?
The median age is 45.3. 19% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Ballycolla?
25% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (31 people), and 0% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Ballycolla?
94% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 13% were born abroad and 5.3% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Ballycolla?
85% are Catholic, 11% have no religion and 4.6% another religion; 2.3% didn’t say.
Is Ballycolla good for families?
45% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 19% of residents are under 18. Schools near Ballycolla are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Ballycolla?
Median gross household income in Ballycolla was €57,540 in 2022, against €59,520 across Co. Laois 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).