Photo: sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Emo is over 43.4, older than 95% of Irish towns
Residents who describe themselves as White Irish are more common here than in 99% of Irish towns. There were 93 households in Emo at the 2022 Census, home to 283 residents. The share of households without a car or van stands at 3.4%. 1.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across Ireland’s towns the figure is 4.7%.
A change of +7% since 2016 leaves Emo behind 55% 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%.
20% of residents are 65 or over, a share 90% of Irish towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 9.5% of residents, 1.5 times the share across Ireland’s towns. The wider picture: 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 are more common here than in just over four fifths of Irish towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Laois 50.9%, Ireland 51.2%.
2.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 99% 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
41% of Emo’s residents are in the professional, managerial and technical classes and 23% in the semi-skilled and unskilled classes, against 34% and 15% across Ireland’s towns. On average, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Ireland’s towns.
Emo households average 3.1 people, larger than in 91% of Irish towns
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.
One-person households make up 17%, against 24% across Ireland’s towns. On households of parents with children, Emo sits higher than 72% of Irish towns: 47%.
1.1% of households live in a flat or apartment, below 98% of Irish towns
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
2% of homes are holiday homes; across Ireland’s towns the figure is 0.2%. Across Ireland’s towns, just over one in ten households live in a flat or apartment.
€71,210 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.
At €71,210 a year before tax, the median household income is 18% above that of Ireland (€60,120). That compares with €59,520 across Co. Laois.
Below 99% of Irish towns: 7.1% of residents were born outside Ireland
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.
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the UK (4.3%) and outside the EU and UK (1.4%). Measured more widely, 22% of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns. Few places have so few residents with another country’s citizenship: 1.8% here, fewer than in 99% of Irish towns.
Irish: 41% of Emo’s residents can speak it
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 109 residents (41% of those aged 3 and over). Few places have as many daily speakers of Irish outside education: 1.1% here, more than in 52% of Irish towns.
No religion: 8.6% of residents, a lower share than 97% of Irish towns
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: 95% of Emo · Co. Laois’ towns 84% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns, against 83% in Emo. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.9%), Other, including mixed (1.4%) and Black or Black Irish (0.4%). The comparison figure for residents with no religion is 17% across Ireland’s towns.
A higher share of married residents 15 and over than 96% of Irish towns, at 43%
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 are about as common here as across Ireland’s towns, at 4.9%. As a yardstick, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Emo ranks below 69% of Irish towns on adults with a degree or higher: 28%
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Among residents 15 and over, 17% are still studying. Typically, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns. At the top, 10% of adults have a postgraduate qualification; at the other end, 18% finished at primary level or earlier, against 9.7% across Ireland’s towns.
No nearby town is as old as Emo
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emo | 283 | — | 43.4 | 20% | 47% |
| Portarlington | 9,288 | 7.3 km | 36.4 | 10% | 50% |
| Mountmellick | 4,905 | 7.8 km | 37.6 | 14% | 49% |
| Portlaoise | 23,494 | 8.2 km | 35.9 | 9.5% | 50% |
| Stradbally | 1,404 | 10.1 km | 43.4 | 21% | 41% |
| Monasterevin | 5,307 | 11.7 km | 35.2 | 9.9% | 51% |
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 Emo’s residents
What is the population of Emo?
Emo had 283 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 7% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Emo?
The median age is 43.4. 24% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Emo?
41% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (109 people), and 1.1% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Emo?
95% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 7.1% were born abroad and 1.8% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Emo?
83% are Catholic, 8.6% have no religion and 8.3% another religion; 1.8% didn’t say.
Is Emo good for families?
47% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 24% of residents are under 18. Schools near Emo are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Emo?
Median gross household income in Emo was €71,210 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).