Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of residents with no religion than 95% of Irish towns, at 9.5%
Set against 12% across Ireland’s towns, 8.1% of households live in a flat or apartment in Mountrath. The 2022 Census put the town’s population at 2,070, in 764 households. Households of parents with children: 47% of the total. The median age in the town is 35.8, lower than in 72% of Irish towns.
+13% since 2016, a pace 77% of Irish towns didn’t match
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.
Across Ireland’s towns the median change is +8%; across Co. Laois’ towns, +8%.
13% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 69% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
No age band is larger than 35–39: nearly one in ten residents. Set beside that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Ireland’s towns. On residents aged 65 and over, Mountrath sits lower than 61% of Irish towns: 13%. In Stradbally, the oldest of Co. Laois’ towns by this measure, it is 21%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Laois 50.9%, Ireland 51.2%.
Only 8.9% of residents 15 and over are students in Mountrath
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: 6.1% here and 7.5% across Ireland’s towns. As a reference point, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
A larger share of one-person households than 61% of Irish towns: 26%
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.
Households in Mountrath hold 2.7 people on average (Ireland’s towns: 2.7). On the census count, 4.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Set beside that, 24% of households are one person living alone across Ireland’s towns.
22% of households have no car or van, a share 71% of Irish towns don’t reach
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
Holiday homes are rarer here than in 93% of Irish towns. Across Ireland’s towns, households without a car or van come to 17%. The share of households with broadband is 79%; 18% have no internet at all (typical: 7.6%).
Before tax, the median household income is €42,870 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
The median household earns €42,870 gross, 29% less than the Ireland median (€60,120). Countywide in Co. Laois, the median is €59,520.
Fewer residents born outside Ireland than 70% of Irish towns: 18%
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 (4.9%) and outside the EU and UK (4.5%). As a yardstick, just over a fifth of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns. Mountrath has fewer residents with another country’s citizenship than 69% of Irish towns, at 11%.
A smaller share of daily speakers of Irish outside education than 90% of Irish towns: 0.6%
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
Abbeyleix leads Co. Laois with 1.4%. On average, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
Residents who said they are Catholic make up 78% in Mountrath, more than in 84% 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: 79% of Mountrath · Co. Laois’ towns 84% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White Irish, the largest groups are Other White (11%), Irish Traveller (4%) and Black or Black Irish (2.1%). Residents who said they are Catholic make up 71% across Ireland’s towns. 79% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, against 84% across Co. Laois’ towns and 78% across Ireland’s towns.
In Mountrath, 29% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 83% of Irish towns
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.
Nothing unusual on unpaid carers: 4.7%, close to the figure across Ireland’s towns. The usual figure: 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
In Mountrath, 18% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, fewer than in 93% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Across Ireland’s towns, one in ten adults finished at primary level or earlier; in Mountrath, 18%, and 4.4% hold a postgraduate qualification.
Every neighbour of Mountrath 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountrath | 2,070 | — | 35.8 | 13% | 47% |
| Portlaoise | 23,494 | 12.8 km | 35.9 | 9.5% | 50% |
| Abbeyleix | 1,897 | 12.8 km | 41.4 | 18% | 43% |
| Mountmellick | 4,905 | 16.4 km | 37.6 | 14% | 49% |
| Rathdowney | 1,368 | 18.0 km | 37.4 | 17% | 43% |
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 Mountrath’s residents
What is the population of Mountrath?
Mountrath had 2,070 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 13% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Mountrath?
The median age is 35.8. 27% are under 18 and 13% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Mountrath?
34% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (613 people), and 0.6% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Mountrath?
79% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 18% were born abroad and 11% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Mountrath?
78% are Catholic, 9.5% have no religion and 13% another religion; 8% didn’t say.
Is Mountrath good for families?
47% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 27% of residents are under 18. Schools near Mountrath are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Mountrath?
Median gross household income in Mountrath was €42,870 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).