Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It skews young: only 9% of residents are 65 or over. In Co. Laois, this town has 1,167 residents.
Housing is within reach: set against the median household income, the median home, at €265,600, costs 4.3 times as much. Safety is another plus: recorded crime comes to 2.7 violent offences and 4.6 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. The weak point is walkability: on the way to work, 5% walk, cycle or take the bus or train, where the typical Irish town has 23%. Health is a weak point (C).
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · commuting and health, CSO Census 2022. Ballylinan has subject grades but no overall grade: Irish towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Rents for this town aren't published on their own, so its Cost Grade uses the county's average rent. Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level. This town's Hazard risk Grade uses radon and landslides only: open LiDAR heights don't cover enough of its homes to measure flooding, so flood isn't counted for or against it.
The 3 things Ballylinan does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Ballylinan with Irish towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Ballylinan has subject grades but no overall grade: Irish towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades Irish towns →
2 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
2% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ballylinan.
15% rent privately, lower than both Co. Laois’ towns (19%) and Irish towns (22%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €232,500 | 34 |
| Housing | Ballylinan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 69% | 63% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 15% | 19% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €266K | €251K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Every year, 22.7 crimes are recorded per 1,000 residents. In 2023–2025, damage to property led the graded crimes in Ballylinan. Theft, shown but not graded, ran at 4.4 per 1,000 a year, below both Co. Laois’ towns (10.9) and 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 | Ballylinan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 2.7 | 6 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 22.7 | 41.2 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 4.4 | 10.9 | 15.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 4.6 | 5.4 | 6.4 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
By estimate, 11% of homes in Ballylinan carry radon above the reference level. Landslides: none of Ballylinan lies in a high-susceptibility zone. Its homes mostly stand clear of low ground by water.
| Share of homes | Ballylinan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Weighed against its ages, bad health in Ballylinan runs at 97 per 100 expected. At the census, 1.4% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, below Co. Laois’ towns (2.4%) and Irish towns (2%) alike. Unpaid caring falls to 6% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Ballylinan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 1.4% | 2.4% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 90% | 87% | 88% |
| Unpaid carers | 6% | 5.2% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 25% | 25% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
6.1% of workers worked mainly from home, below both Co. Laois’ towns (7.3%) and Irish towns (11%). On average, the journey to work lasts 32.3 min. The unemployment rate comes to 9.9%.
| Census 2022 | Ballylinan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 32.3 min | 30.4 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €62,310 | €52,817 | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 67% | 63% | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 9.9% | 12% | 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.
Over twelve months, Ballylinan averages 9.9°C. January nights bottom out at 2.0°C here, close to Co. Laois’ towns (2.0°C) and below Irish towns (2.9°C). This Co. Laois town is 0.2°C warmer over the year than in 1981–2010.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ballylinan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.0°C | 2.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.9°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 20.1°C | 20.1°C | 19.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Green space in Ballylinan totals 5 ha, in one park. 72% of homes are within 400 m of green space, close to Co. Laois’ towns (71%) and below Irish towns (92%).
| Outdoors | Ballylinan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 0% | 2.5% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 72% | 71% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.0 km per km² | 0.6 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0.6% | 1.6% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Little rain is due later in the week: 5 of the next 6 days stay dry. Judged by the averages, Ballylinan sees November days reach 11°C and nights fall to 4°C. No rain is due today, though a breeze picks up to 23 km/h; the low is 7°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 263 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 192 mm |
| Summer | 20°C | 11°C | 207 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 275 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
14% of residents are 15 to 24, higher than both Co. Laois’ towns (13%) and Irish towns (12%). Children under 15 count for 25% of the people here. People 65 and over make up nearly a tenth of the town.
50.8% of Ballylinan’s residents are women
593 women and 574 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ballylinan | Co. Laois | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 25% | 23% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 9.1% | 10% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 9.2% | 11% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 44% | 41% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.4% | 6.3% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 24% | 23% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Laois and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Laois County Council runs Ballylinan: Ireland has one tier of local government, with no town council below it. 51% of voters turned out at the last local elections, about level with Co. Laois’ towns (51%) and above Irish towns (46%). No party holds a majority on Laois County Council: Fianna Fáil lead with 6 of 19 seats, short of the 10 needed.
| Turnout | Ballylinan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 51% | 51% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
For its size, Ballylinan has 17 inventory buildings per 10,000 residents, lower than both Co. Laois’ towns (79) and Irish towns (48). The pre-1919 share of homes is 2.3%.
| Heritage | Ballylinan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 17 | 79 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 2 | 14 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 2.3% | 5.1% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
3 schools lie within 3 km of Ballylinan: 3 primary schools.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Padraig Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 218 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Ballylinan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −11% | +10% | +4% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 15% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 0% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
One place to visit is mapped within 5 km of Ballylinan; with it, the best known within 40 km.
CastleCarlow Castle14 km southeast
CathedralCathedral of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary14 km southeast
CastleKilkenny Castle35 km south
CastleBallyloughan Castle22 km southeast
CastleRock of Dunamase15 km northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
2 of Ballylinan’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 2 archaeological sites in and around the town.
One notable person was born in Ballylinan; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Pat Walker: Jarvin, CC BY 3.0 · Charles K. Gerrard: Selznick Pictures Corporation / Select Pictures Corporation, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballylinan | 1,167 | — | — | A− | B+ | C |
| Athy Kildare | 11,035 | 6.5 | C− | A | C | D |
| Stradbally | 1,404 | 10 | — | A− | B− | D |
| Castledermot Kildare | 1,685 | 14 | — | A− | B | C+ |
| Carlow Carlow | 27,351 | 15 | C− | B | C+ | D |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
The median age in Ballylinan is 36.7, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
6% mostly work from home, and 31% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Ballylinan had 1,167 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,112 in 2016: 4.9% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Laois
1,167 people live in Ballylinan, 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) · 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).