Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its population rose 17% from 2016 to 2022. A town in Co. Leitrim, home to 1,112 people.
Cost of living is its strong suit — home prices sit at a median €160,000, which is 4 years of the town’s median household income. It is easy to get around without a car: 17% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train, against 23% in the typical Irish town. Incomes are on the low side: 64% of working-age residents are employed, with an unemployment rate of 14%. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for safety and B for health.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · commuting, work and health, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025. Ballinamore has subject grades but no overall grade: Irish towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Rents for this town aren't published on their own, so its Cost Grade uses the county's average rent. Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level.
The 3 things Ballinamore does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Ballinamore with Irish towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Irish towns →
4 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
8% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ballinamore.
73% of commuters drove to work at the census. Short trips: 47% under 15 minutes, above Irish towns (31%). The census found 64% of 15- to 64-year-olds in work.
| Census 2022 | Ballinamore | Co. Leitrim | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 14% | – | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 47% | – | 31% |
| Median household income | €40,360 | – | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 64% | – | 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.
Social housing holds 18% of households. Renting privately is how a quarter of households live.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €160,000 | 99 |
| Housing | Ballinamore | Co. Leitrim | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €160K | – | €350K |
| Households owning their home | 51% | – | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 18% | – | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 25% | – | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
2 schools lie within 3 km of Ballinamore: 1 primary school and 1 secondary school. Half of the schools are in the DEIS scheme, higher than Irish towns (35%). Ballinamore Community School is the nearest secondary school, 1.1 km away.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Chlann Naofa DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 237 | Catholic |
| Ballinamore Community SchoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 336 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Ballinamore | Co. Leitrim | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +21% | – | +4% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | – | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | – | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 50% | – | 35% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland publishes no results school by school, so these cards carry no letters or results.
The closest place to swim from Ballinamore is Keeldra Lough, 15 km away, rated excellent in 2025. By estimate, 3.3% of homes in Ballinamore carry radon above the reference level. On high landslide susceptibility: 0.2% of homes, in line with Irish towns (0%).
| Share of homes | Ballinamore | Co. Leitrim | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0.2% | – | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | – | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The year’s mean temperature is 9.5°C, below Irish towns (10.3°C). Ballinamore gets 1,239 mm of rain a year. On a January night, the temperature in Ballinamore falls to about 1.8°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ballinamore | Co. Leitrim | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 19.1°C | – | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.5°C | – | 10.3°C |
| January low | 1.8°C | – | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,239 mm | – | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
For 100% of homes, green space is under 400 m away. Walkers have 0.3 km per km² of paths and tracks, lower than Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Every 1,000 residents of Ballinamore share 13.7 ha of green space.
| Outdoors | Ballinamore | Co. Leitrim | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 7.5% | – | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.3 km per km² | – | 2.1 km per km² |
| Green space per 1,000 residents | 13.7 ha | – | 4.1 ha |
| Near a park | 100% | – | 92% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
In November a normal day reaches 10°C and a normal night 4°C; the forecast for Ballinamore below sets each day against them. It stays dry from start to finish today, with wind of 18 km/h or less and a low near 6°C. The coming days top out somewhere between 7°C and 9°C; Thursday looks warmest.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 360 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 253 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 10°C | 285 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | 6°C | 340 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 11% of residents, lower than Irish towns (12%). Children under 15 make up 23% of residents.
53.8% of Ballinamore’s residents are women
598 women and 514 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ballinamore | Co. Leitrim | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 23% | – | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | – | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | – | 29% |
| 45–64 | 22% | – | 24% |
| 65+ | 20% | – | 14% |
| Primary or none | 12% | – | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 12% | – | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 39% | – | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.9% | – | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 33% | – | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Leitrim and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Ballinamore is run by Leitrim County Council, its only council: Ireland has one tier of local government. At the general election 61% voted, above Irish towns (59%). Leitrim County Council has no ruling majority: Fianna Fáil hold 6 of its 18 seats, short of the 10 needed.
| Turnout | Ballinamore | Co. Leitrim | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 66% | – | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 61% | – | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 8.4% of the total, higher than Irish towns (3.4%). There are 4 entries on the national archaeological record here. 29 of Ballinamore’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
| Heritage | Ballinamore | Co. Leitrim | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 261 | – | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 8.4% | – | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 4 | – | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
6.5% of residents give unpaid care to a relative or friend, above Irish towns (5.4%). Ages taken into account, Ballinamore counts 97 people in poor health for every 100 predicted. Weighed against its ages, disability locally runs at 110 per 100 expected.
| Census 2022 | Ballinamore | Co. Leitrim | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 6.5% | – | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 25% | – | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | – | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Of the graded crimes in Ballinamore, assaults and harassment came up most often (2023–2025). Every kind together came to 29 per 1,000 residents a year, below Irish towns (54.3), and homes see 4.5 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. For its size, Ballinamore records more crime per resident than nearly four fifths of the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
Not in the gradeTheft, public order and offences found by Garda checks (drugs, road traffic, dangerous acts) are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence, burglary and damage.
| Per 1,000 a year | Ballinamore | Co. Leitrim | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 29 | – | 54.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 4.5 | – | 6.4 |
| Theft | 5.5 | – | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
One place to visit is mapped within 5 km of Ballinamore; with it, the best known within 40 km.
CathedralThe Cathedral of Saint Patrick and Saint Felim29 km east
CathedralSt. Mel's Cathedral36 km south
Abbey or priory · Office of Public WorksBoyle Abbey34 km west
CastleCloughoughter Castle22 km east
CathedralSt. Fethlimidh’s Cathedral27 km eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
29 of Ballinamore’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 4 archaeological sites in and around the town.
4 notable people were born in Ballinamore.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballinamore | 1,112 | — | — | A | B− | B |
| Mohill | 1,027 | 15 | — | A | B− | C+ |
| Drumshanbo | 1,240 | 15 | — | A− | B+ | C− |
| Ballyconnell Cavan | 1,422 | 16 | — | A+ | B | C+ |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Ballinamore had 1,112 people at the 2022 census, up from 947 in 2016: 17.4% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Ballinamore is 39.3, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
10% mostly work from home, and 47% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Leitrim
1,112 people live in Ballinamore, in the area of Leitrim 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) · TownRatings grades, run #544 (Irish towns only). 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).