Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 657 people, this town lies in Co. Laois. Between 2016 and 2022, its population grew by 11%.
The median home here went for €277,300, 4.2 times the median household income. 5% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Born outside Ireland: one in ten residents.
Grades start at 1,000 residents for Irish towns, so Ballyroan has none.
The 2 things Ballyroan does most differently from other towns.
6 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
6% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ballyroan.
Under 1% of homes in Ballyroan are estimated to have radon above the reference level. Landslides: none of Ballyroan lies in a high-susceptibility zone. Very few of its homes sit on low ground by water.
| Share of homes | Ballyroan | 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.
Across the year it averages 9.6°C, below both Co. Laois’ towns (9.9°C) and Irish towns (10.3°C). The warmest afternoons come in July, at around 19.8°C in Ballyroan. This Co. Laois town is 0.2°C warmer over the year than in 1981–2010.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ballyroan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average temperature over the year | 9.6°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 1.8°C | 2.0°C | 2.9°C |
| July high | 19.8°C | 20.1°C | 19.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Unpaid carers make up 6.4% of residents, higher than both Co. Laois’ towns (5.2%) and Irish towns (5.4%). Disability, age-adjusted: 123 for every 100 expected in Ballyroan. 89% of people in Ballyroan rate their own health good or very good.
| Census 2022 | Ballyroan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 6.4% | 5.2% | 5.4% |
| Good or very good health | 89% | 87% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2% |
| With a disability | 23% | 25% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Social housing holds 20% of households, higher than both Co. Laois’ towns (16%) and Irish towns (13%). Owners make up 70% of households.
| Housing | Ballyroan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 10% | 19% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 20% | 16% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 70% | 63% | 61% |
| 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.
Its paths and tracks come to 0.1 km per km², about level with Co. Laois’ towns (0.6 km per km²) and below Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Green space in Ballyroan works out at 4.9 ha per 1,000 people. 2 waymarked trails and greenways begin within 5 km.
| Outdoors | Ballyroan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 58% | 71% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.2% | 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 | 0% | 1.6% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
The commute to work averages 26.5 min. The car took 88% of commuters, above Co. Laois’ towns (77%) and Irish towns (66%) alike. Before tax, the average household brings in €65,700 a year.
| Census 2022 | Ballyroan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 7.8% | 12% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €65,700 | €52,817 | €57,760 |
| Average trip | 26.5 min | 30.4 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 64% | 63% | 68% |
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.
Aged 15 to 24: 13% of residents.
50.1% of Ballyroan’s residents are women
329 women and 328 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ballyroan | Co. Laois | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 28% | 23% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 11% | 10% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 6.3% | 11% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 43% | 41% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.7% | 6.3% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 28% | 23% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Laois and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
One council serves Ballyroan: Laois County Council. Turnout at the last local elections was 48%, between Co. Laois’ towns (51%) and Irish towns (46%). Laois County Council has no ruling majority: Fianna Fáil hold 6 of its 19 seats, short of the 10 needed.
| Turnout | Ballyroan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 48% | 51% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
6.4% of homes date from before 1919. The Sites and Monuments Record lists 6 sites here, lower than both Co. Laois’ towns (14) and Irish towns (11). Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 6 buildings in Ballyroan, 2 of national or international importance.
| Heritage | Ballyroan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 91 | 79 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 6.4% | 5.1% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 6 | 14 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Within 3 km of Ballyroan there is one school. Pupils at the school within 3 km of the town: 177.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballyroan Primary School Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 177 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Ballyroan | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 15% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 0% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +11% | +10% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · These schools carry no letter or result: Ireland doesn’t release them school by school.
2 places to visit are mapped within 5 km of Ballyroan; with them, the best known within 40 km.
CastleKilkenny Castle33 km south
CastleRock of Dunamase11 km northeast
CastleCarlow Castle28 km southeast
Museum · Office of Public WorksEmo Court19 km north
Garden · Office of Public WorksHeywood House Gardens7.1 km southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 6 buildings in Ballyroan, 2 of national or international importance. The national record lists 6 archaeological sites in and around the town.
No notable person born in Ballyroan is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Robert Sheehan: Luigi Novi, CC BY 4.0 · Seán Fleming: Houses of the Oireachtas, CC BY 4.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballyroan | 657 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Abbeyleix | 1,897 | 4.5 | — | A− | A+ | B+ |
| Portlaoise | 23,494 | 10 | C− | B+ | D | C− |
| Mountrath | 2,070 | 13 | — | A | B− | C− |
| Stradbally | 1,404 | 13 | — | A− | B− | D |
| Ballylinan | 1,167 | 17 | — | A− | B+ | C |
| Castlecomer Kilkenny | 1,496 | 18 | — | A | A | D |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Ballyroan had 657 people at the 2022 census, up from 590 in 2016: 11.4% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
6% mostly work from home, and 38% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
The median age in Ballyroan is 34.7, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Laois
657 people live in Ballyroan, 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).