Photo: Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0Portlaoise records more crime per resident than 88% of Irish towns
The Safety Grade comes out at D, drawn from incidents the Gardaí recorded in the station areas where Portlaoise’s residents live through 2023 to 2025: #261 of 320 Irish towns. Add to that, its police logs show 11.1 violent incidents and 7.6 incidents of burglary and damage per 1,000 residents a year, while in the typical town its size the numbers are 5.6 and 6.6. Of the 40 Irish towns closest to it in size, it ranks 34th from the least crime.
Incidents per 1,000 residents (Census 2022) a year, 2023–2025 average, in the Garda station areas residents live in. Homicide and sexual offences aren’t published by station, so no figure here includes them.
What stands out about safety in Portlaoise
Assaults and harassment: high for a town its size
Portlaoise records 9.8 incidents of assaults and harassment per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.6 in the typical town among Irish towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
Above the Irish rate
The station areas Portlaoise’s residents live in record 18.7 incidents of violence, burglary and damage per 1,000 residents a year (2023–2025), against 11.9 across Ireland: 1.6 times the national rate. Safety Grade ↓
More crime than many places its size
Among the 40 Irish towns closest in size, Portlaoise ranks 34th, counting from the least graded crime: lower than Dooradoyle, Athlone and Ballymun, higher than Old Bawn, Wexford and Clondalkin. Towns its size ↓
Written from CSO’s recorded crime by Garda station (CJA11) and Census 2022. Figures are incidents the Gardaí recorded, not convictions.
The D for Portlaoise, and how it is built
How sure: The rate comes from Garda station areas, shared out by where residents live, not from crime inside the town’s own boundary.
The grade counts assaults and harassment, kidnapping, robbery, weapons offences, burglary and damage per resident, averaged over three years, and places the town among every Irish town and city neighbourhood of 1,000 people or more (the five city totals aren’t in it).
Its place: #261 of 320 Irish towns.
Violent crime, burglary and damage the Gardaí recorded per resident, 2023–2025, against Irish towns of 1,000 people or more.
Towns its size: Portlaoise comes 34th of 40
| # | Town | People | Violent | Burglary & damage | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douglas Cork | 22,029 | 2.4 | 2.3 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 31 | Old Bawn Dublin | 18,758 | 7.8 | 10.7 | D |
| 32 | Wexford Wexford | 21,524 | 8.7 | 9.9 | D |
| 33 | Clondalkin Dublin | 22,788 | 8.1 | 10.5 | D |
| 34 | Portlaoise Laois | 23,494 | 11.1 | 7.6 | D |
| 35 | Dooradoyle Limerick | 18,593 | 8.9 | 10.2 | D |
| 36 | Athlone Westmeath | 22,869 | 11.8 | 9.9 | D |
| 37 | Ballymun Dublin | 22,321 | 10.2 | 12.7 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | The Liberties Dublin | 18,460 | 15.5 | 17.7 | D− |
The 40 Irish towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500+ people closest in population; the city totals are left out. Graded crime: violent crime, burglary and damage.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, 2023 to 2025, counting from the least: towns ranked near Portlaoise, and others in Co. Laois.
What was recorded, by type
Against the typical town its size, Portlaoise runs highest on assaults and harassment (9.8 per 1,000 against 4.6), public order offences (10.2 per 1,000 against 5.2) and theft (21.4 per 1,000 against 17).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theft | not graded | 21.4 | 17 |
| Road and traffic offences | not graded | 16.9 | 9.1 |
| Public order offences | not graded | 10.2 | 5.2 |
| Assaults and harassment | Violent | 9.8 | 4.6 |
| Dangerous or negligent acts | not graded | 9.3 | 4.6 |
| Drug offences | not graded | 7.2 | 3 |
| Damage to property | Burglary & damage | 5.7 | 4.7 |
| Offences against justice | not graded | 4.7 | 1.8 |
| Burglary | Burglary & damage | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Weapons and explosives | Violent | 0.8 | 0.5 |
| Robbery, extortion and hijacking | Violent | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Other offences | not graded | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Kidnapping | Violent | 0 | 0 |
The groups are CSO’s. Dangerous or negligent acts, drug offences, road and traffic offences and offences against justice count Garda checks more than victims; they, theft, public order and other offences are shown but not graded. Homicide and sexual offences aren’t published by station; fraud is left out.
Per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among Irish towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Violent incidents recorded a year: about 11 per 1,000 residents
Violence per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025
Burglary & damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 8 burglaries or acts of criminal damage, plus 21 thefts, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded incident.
From 2016 to 2025, the graded categories fell 11% per resident
Violent · per 1,000 residents
Burglary & damage · per 1,000 residents
Its highest year was 2018, at 22 per 1,000 residents, and its lowest 2020, at 14.4. Across Ireland the same rate went from 12 in 2016 to 11.6 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Violent | Burglary & damage | Graded | Ireland | All recorded crime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 11.2 | 6.7 | 17.9 | 11.6 | 87.4 |
| 2024 | 10.5 | 8.1 | 18.6 | 12.1 | 88.6 |
| 2023 | 11.6 | 7.9 | 19.5 | 11.9 | 90.1 |
| 2022 | 10.5 | 8.4 | 18.9 | 11.6 | 103.8 |
| 2021 | 8.6 | 6.2 | 14.8 | 10.2 | 94.4 |
| 2020 | 8.7 | 5.7 | 14.4 | 10.6 | 94.1 |
| 2019 | 9.9 | 9.3 | 19.2 | 12.8 | 108.7 |
| 2018 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 22 | 12.4 | 110.2 |
| 2017 | 9.4 | 11.9 | 21.3 | 12.8 | 110.7 |
| 2016 | 7.4 | 12.7 | 20.1 | 12 | 93.7 |
CSO CJA11, recorded crime incidents by Garda station, 2016–2025, shared to the town by where its residents live. Every year is divided by the residents counted in 2022, so the line moves with recorded crime, not with population. CSO publishes recorded crime “under reservation”, its flag on the quality of Garda recording.
Violence, burglary and damage the Gardaí recorded each year in the station areas where Portlaoise’s residents live, per 1,000 residents, against Ireland as a whole.
Crime in the places around Portlaoise
| Town | People | Violent | Burglary & damage | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portlaoise | 23,494 | 11.1 | 7.6 | D |
| Mountmellick | 4,905 | 5.1 | 5.4 | B− |
| Stradbally | 1,404 | 4.5 | 5.2 | B− |
| Mountrath | 2,070 | 4.9 | 5.2 | B− |
| Abbeyleix | 1,897 | 2 | 2.3 | A+ |
| Portarlington | 9,288 | 6 | 5.3 | C+ |
Portlaoise records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Mountmellick, 8.8 km away, records 5.1 recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Portlaoise’s 11.1.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three-year average. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Station areas, not the town’s boundary. Crime is published by Garda station. Each station’s incidents are divided by the people living in its area (Census 2022), and Portlaoise takes the rates of the areas its residents live in, weighted by how many live in each.
- Checks are shown, not graded. Road traffic, dangerous driving, drug and justice offences mostly record Garda activity: one rural station can book thousands of camera detections. The grade leaves them out, with theft and public order, and counts violence, burglary and damage.
- Each year, and one average. CSO publishes crime by station once a year. The chart follows every year since 2016; the grade averages 2023, 2024 and 2025, because a small station area’s count swings from year to year. There are no months.
- No streets. No street- or ward-level crime is published in Ireland: the finest grain is the Garda station area.
Questions about safety in Portlaoise
Is Portlaoise safe?
The Gardaí recorded about 11.1 violent incidents and 7.6 burglaries or acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year in the station areas Portlaoise’s residents live in, averaged over 2023–2025. That earns a D for safety: more crime per resident than 88% of Irish towns.
What is the most common crime in Portlaoise?
Theft: about 503 a year (2023–2025 average). Next came road and traffic offences (397) and public order offences (239).
Is crime going up in Portlaoise?
The recorded rate in the graded categories fell 11% from 2016 to 2025: 20.1 per 1,000 residents in 2016, 17.9 in 2025. The grade uses the three-year average, so one unusual year moves it less.
How does Portlaoise compare with Ireland as a whole?
The station areas Portlaoise’s residents live in record 18.7 incidents of violence, burglary and damage per 1,000 residents a year (2023–2025). Across Ireland the figure is 11.9.
Is Portlaoise safer than the towns around it?
5 of the 5 neighbouring towns with figures record less violence, burglary and damage per resident than Portlaoise (18.7 per 1,000 a year). The lowest is Abbeyleix, at 4.3.
How sure is Portlaoise’s Safety Grade?
The rate comes from Garda station areas, shared out by where residents live, not from crime inside the town’s own boundary.
Source: CSO, Recorded crime incidents by Garda station (CJA11), 2023–2025, and Census 2022 (CC BY 4.0); TownRatings calculation.
Sources: CSO, Recorded crime incidents by Garda station (CJA11), 2023–2025 · CSO, Census 2022 Small Areas and the 2011 Garda sub-districts · Safety Grade: TownRatings calculation. 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).