Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 946 residents and lies in Co. Laois. It grew by 10% between the 2016 and 2022 censuses.
At a median €277,300, a home costs 4.9 times the town’s median household income. Its architectural heritage runs to 25 buildings on the national inventory. On the way to work, 11% walk, cycle or take the bus or train. A degree is held by 23% of adults.
At under 1,000 residents, Durrow is too small for the grades Irish towns get.
The 3 things Durrow does most differently from other towns.
The register holds 25 buildings on the National Inventory in Durrow, one of them of national importance.
3 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Durrow.
The ground under Durrow carries no high landslide susceptibility. Next to none of its homes lie low beside a river or the sea.
| Share of homes | Durrow | 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 9.8°C, near Co. Laois’ towns (9.9°C) and lower than Irish towns (10.3°C). Expect January lows of around 2.0°C in Durrow. November is the wettest month here, with 96 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Durrow | 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 |
| Rain a year | 891 mm | 938 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 20.0°C | 20.1°C | 19.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Ages taken into account, Durrow counts 99 people with a disability for every 100 predicted. Unpaid carers make up 6.7% of residents, higher than both Co. Laois’ towns (5.2%) and Irish towns (5.4%). At the census, 1.5% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2022 | Durrow | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 6.7% | 5.2% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.5% | 2.4% | 2% |
| With a disability | 21% | 25% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 88% | 87% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Renting privately is how 15% of households live. 12% live in social housing, below Co. Laois’ towns (16%) and Irish towns (13%) alike.
| Housing | Durrow | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 71% | 63% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 15% | 19% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 12% | 16% | 13% |
| 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.
Protected nature near Durrow includes River Barrow. Within 5 km, 8.5% of the land is protected nature, higher than both Co. Laois’ towns (1.6%) and Irish towns (1.8%). 100% of homes are a short walk (400 m) from green space. One park, 4 ha of green space: that is the measure of the town’s parkland.
| Outdoors | Durrow | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 16% | 2.5% | 2.7% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 8.5% | 1.6% | 1.8% |
| Near a park | 100% | 71% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 1.0 km per km² | 0.6 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Just over two in five trips took under 15 minutes, above both Co. Laois’ towns (37%) and Irish towns (31%). Getting to work takes 26.7 min on average. Driving is how 80% of commuters got to work at the census.
| Census 2022 | Durrow | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 8.5% | 12% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 41% | 37% | 31% |
| Average trip | 26.7 min | 30.4 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 68% | 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.
Under-15s account for 22% of the population. 1% speak Irish daily outside school, between Co. Laois’ towns (0.6%) and Irish towns (1.1%). Those 65 and older account for 15% of residents.
50.6% of Durrow’s residents are women
479 women and 467 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Durrow | Co. Laois | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 23% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 15% | 10% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 9.3% | 11% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 15% | 17% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 45% | 41% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7.5% | 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+
There is no majority on Laois County Council; Fianna Fáil have the most seats, 6 of 19, short of 10. Laois County Council is the one council for Durrow; Ireland has no town or county councils between it and the government. In the Dáil, Durrow is part of Laois, which elects 3 TDs.
| Turnout | Durrow | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 56% | 51% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes built before 1919 account for 17.4% of the housing. Beneath and around the town lie 3 recorded archaeological sites. Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 25 buildings in Durrow, 1 of national or international importance.
| Heritage | Durrow | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 264 | 79 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 17.4% | 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
Pupil numbers changed +7% since 2019/20, below Co. Laois’ towns (+10%) but above Irish towns (+4%). Families in Durrow have one school within 3 km. 192 pupils attend the one school within 3 km of the town.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our Ladys Meadow National Schoo Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 192 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Durrow | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 15% | 35% |
| 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.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Durrow. Best known first.
CastleGardens at Castle Durrowin townGardenGardenDunmore Country School Kitchen Garden and Natural Beekeeping Classes800 m outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumThe Irish Fly Fishing and Game Museum2.6 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 25 buildings in Durrow, 1 of national or international importance. The national record lists 3 archaeological sites in and around the town.
4 notable people were born in Durrow.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durrow | 946 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ballyragget Kilkenny | 1,116 | 7.2 | — | A− | A | C |
| Abbeyleix | 1,897 | 8.9 | — | A− | A+ | B+ |
| Castlecomer Kilkenny | 1,496 | 13 | — | A | A | D |
| Rathdowney | 1,368 | 14 | — | A | B− | C− |
| Urlingford Kilkenny | 1,196 | 18 | — | A | A− | C+ |
| Mountrath | 2,070 | 19 | — | A | B− | C− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Durrow had 946 people at the 2022 census, up from 860 in 2016: 10% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
9% mostly work from home, and 41% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
The median age in Durrow is 38.1, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Laois
Durrow has 946 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).