Photo: Sarah777 at English Wikipedia · Public domainShared households of unrelated adults make up 1.5% in Ballyroan, less than in 99% of Irish towns
Households of parents with children: 55%, above 92% of Irish towns. There were 206 households in Ballyroan at the 2022 Census, home to 657 residents. The census found that 93% of residents describe themselves as White Irish here. Lower than in nearly three quarters of Irish towns: 11% of residents are 65 or over.
A +11% change since 2016: Ballyroan grew faster than 71% 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.
The median across Ireland’s towns is +8%, and across Co. Laois’ towns +8%.
Ballyroan is younger than 82% of Irish towns: a median age of 34.7
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 5–9, with 12% of residents, 1.8 times the share across Ireland’s towns. On the census count, 13% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Laois 50.9%, Ireland 51.2%.
In Ballyroan, 14% of residents 15 and over are students, more than in 90% of Irish towns
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
Residents who moved in within the year: 4%, below 94% of Irish towns. For comparison, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
Bigger households than 97% of Irish towns: 3.2 people each 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, the share of one-person households is 24%; Ballyroan has 18%.
Ballyroan ranks below 79% of Irish towns on households without a car or van: 8.9%
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
In Ballyroan, 8.3% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 12% across Ireland’s towns. For comparison, 17% of households have no car or van across Ireland’s towns. Holiday homes are rarer here than in 93% of Irish towns.
€65,700 a year: where the middle household sits
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Half of Ballyroan’s households have a gross income above €65,700 a year, 9% above the median for Ireland (€60,120). For Co. Laois as a whole, the figure is €59,520.
9.8% of residents were born outside Ireland, below 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.
5.4% speak a language other than English at home, Polish most of all (2.3%); 0.5% speak English not well or not at all. Across Ireland’s towns, the share of residents born outside Ireland is 22%. Few places have so few residents with another country’s citizenship: 5% here, fewer than in 98% of Irish towns.
42% of Ballyroan 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 250 residents (42% of those aged 3 and over). Daily speakers of Irish outside education are about as common here as across Ireland’s towns: 1.2%.
More residents who said they are Catholic than 99% of Irish towns: 86%
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: 93% of Ballyroan · Co. Laois’ towns 84% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Across Ireland’s towns, 17% of residents said they have no religion; in Ballyroan, 10%. To put it in context, 71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns. Leading the other groups after White Irish: Other White (5.6%), Black or Black Irish (0.6%) and Other, including mixed (0.3%).
Ballyroan sits above 83% of Irish towns for married residents 15 and over (39%)
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.
Unpaid carers: 6.4%, above 87% of Irish towns. Typically, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Adults with a degree or higher: 28%, a lower share than 69% 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: 8.8% of adults. By way of comparison, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns. Primary level or earlier: 6.3%, against 9.7% across Ireland’s towns.
Every neighbour of Ballyroan has an older population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballyroan | 657 | — | 34.7 | 11% | 55% |
| Abbeyleix | 1,897 | 4.5 km | 41.4 | 18% | 43% |
| Portlaoise | 23,494 | 10.2 km | 35.9 | 9.5% | 50% |
| Mountrath | 2,070 | 12.7 km | 35.8 | 13% | 47% |
| Stradbally | 1,404 | 13.2 km | 43.4 | 21% | 41% |
| Ballylinan | 1,167 | 17.4 km | 36.7 | 9.1% | 57% |
| Castlecomer | 1,496 | 17.6 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 Ballyroan’s residents
What is the population of Ballyroan?
Ballyroan had 657 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 11% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Ballyroan?
The median age is 34.7. 34% are under 18 and 11% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Ballyroan?
42% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (250 people), and 1.2% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Ballyroan?
93% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 9.8% were born abroad and 5% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Ballyroan?
86% are Catholic, 10% have no religion and 3.5% another religion; 4.7% didn’t say.
Is Ballyroan good for families?
55% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 34% of residents are under 18. Schools near Ballyroan are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Ballyroan?
Median gross household income in Ballyroan was €65,700 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).