Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Co. Laois, this town has 454 residents.
The median sale, €277,300, comes to 5.2 times what the median household here earns. The car is not the only way to work here: 7% of commuters walk, cycle or use public transport. 23% of residents 15 and over hold a degree. Over-65s are 20% of the population.
At under 1,000 residents, Castletown is too small for the grades Irish towns get.
The 3 things Castletown does most differently from other towns.
3 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
10% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Castletown.
No part of Castletown is mapped as high landslide susceptibility. By estimate, fewer than one home in a hundred here has radon above the reference level. Very few of its homes sit on low ground by water.
| Share of homes | Castletown | 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.
A January night in Castletown drops to 2.0°C on average, near Co. Laois’ towns (2.0°C) and lower than Irish towns (2.9°C). The mean temperature over a year here is 9.8°C. October is the wettest month locally, with 102 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Castletown | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average temperature over the year | 9.8°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 2.0°C | 2.0°C | 2.9°C |
| July high | 19.9°C | 20.1°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 966 mm | 938 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Disability, age-adjusted: 127 for every 100 expected in Castletown. At the census, 29% of people here had a disability, higher than both Co. Laois’ towns (25%) and Irish towns (22%). 2.7% of residents report bad or very bad health.
| Census 2022 | Castletown | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a disability | 29% | 25% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 83% | 87% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.7% | 2.4% | 2% |
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 just over a fifth of households, above Co. Laois’ towns (16%) and Irish towns (13%) alike. 71% of households own their home.
| Housing | Castletown | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 5% | 19% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 22% | 16% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 71% | 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.
Green space lies within 400 m of 100% of homes. Protected nature near Castletown includes River Barrow. Within 5 km, 3.7% of the land is protected nature, above Co. Laois’ towns (1.6%) and Irish towns (1.8%) alike.
| Outdoors | Castletown | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 8.7% | 2.5% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 100% | 71% | 92% |
| 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 | 3.7% | 1.6% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Nothing falls from the sky today, by the look of it; the wind keeps to 19 km/h or less, and the low is 4°C. Expect highs from 6°C to 9°C over the rest of the week, with Friday the warmest. By December, a normal day reaches 8°C and a normal night 2°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 268 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 199 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 224 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 6°C | 275 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
In work: 64% of residents aged 15 to 64, close to Co. Laois’ towns (63%) and below Irish towns (68%). 86% of commuters took the car to work at the census. The census counted 5.6% of workers working mainly from home.
| Census 2022 | Castletown | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 46% | 37% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 8.3% | 12% | 9.2% |
| Average trip | 27.1 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.
13% of residents have a birthplace overseas. Children under 15 make up 24%, near Co. Laois’ towns (23%) and higher than Irish towns (20%).
54.8% of Castletown’s residents are women
249 women and 205 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Castletown | Co. Laois | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 24% | 23% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 19% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 20% | 10% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 14% | 11% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 17% | 17% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 39% | 41% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7.7% | 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 is the one council for Castletown; Ireland has no town or county councils between it and the government. With 6 of 19 seats, Fianna Fáil are the largest group on Laois County Council, short of the 10 a majority needs. In the Dáil, Castletown is part of Laois, which elects 3 TDs.
| Turnout | Castletown | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 56% | 51% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
10.4% of homes were built before 1919. The Sites and Monuments Record lists 3 sites here, below both Co. Laois’ towns (14) and Irish towns (11). Castletown’s built heritage counts 7 inventory entries, each of regional standing.
| Heritage | Castletown | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 154 | 79 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 10.4% | 5.1% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 3 | 14 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Families in Castletown have 5 schools within 3 km to choose from: 4 primary schools and 1 secondary school. For secondary school, the closest is Mountrath Community School, 2.2 km from the town. Since 2019/20, pupils changed +7%, between Co. Laois’ towns (+10%) and Irish towns (+4%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castletown N.S. Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 111 | Catholic |
| Mountrath Community SchoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 789 | Inter-denominational |
| St Fintans N.S. DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 108 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Castletown | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 40% | 15% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 0% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +7% | +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.
One place to visit is mapped within 5 km of Castletown; with it, the best known within 40 km.
Abbey or prioryAghaboe Abbey6.2 km south
CastleLeap Castle22 km west
CastleKilkenny Castle40 km southeast
CastleBirr Castle31 km northwest
Museum · Office of Public WorksEmo Court25 km northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Castletown’s built heritage counts 7 inventory entries, each of regional standing. 3 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
One notable person was born in Castletown; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Robert Sheehan: Luigi Novi, CC BY 4.0 · Charles Flanagan: Department of Children and Youth Affairs, CC BY 2.0 · James Jeffrey Roche: uncredited, Public domain · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castletown | 454 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mountrath | 2,070 | 3 | — | A | B− | C− |
| Abbeyleix | 1,897 | 12 | — | A− | A+ | B+ |
| Rathdowney | 1,368 | 15 | — | A | B− | C− |
| Portlaoise | 23,494 | 15 | C− | B+ | D | C− |
| Mountmellick | 4,905 | 19 | C+ | A | B− | D− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
The median age in Castletown is 37.4, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
6% mostly work from home, and 46% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Castletown had 454 people at the 2022 census, up from 421 in 2016: 7.8% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Laois
Castletown has 454 people, 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).