Photo: Georgelangan · CC BY-SA 3.0Half of Athea is over 42.8, older than 93% of Irish towns
Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in 99% of Irish towns. 418 residents in 174 households: that is Athea at the 2022 Census. The share of residents who describe themselves as White Irish stands at 96%. Where 0.2% of homes are holiday homes across Ireland’s towns, Athea has 2%.
Since 2016, Athea has grown +9%, faster than 56% 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.
Across Ireland’s towns the median change is +8%; across Co. Limerick’s towns, +9%.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 8.4% in Athea, less than in 99% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
People aged 65 and over make up just over a fifth of residents, against 14% across Ireland’s towns. As a yardstick, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Limerick 51.2%, Ireland 51.2%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A lower share of students among residents 15 and over than 99% of Irish towns, at 6.8%
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
In Athea, the professional, managerial and technical classes take in 23% of residents and the semi-skilled and unskilled classes 25%, against 34% and 15% across Ireland’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year are rarer here than in 60% of Irish towns.
Smaller households than 81% of Irish towns: 2.5 people on average
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Limerick’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
The figure for one-person households is 29% in Athea and 24% across Ireland’s towns. On the census count, just over two in five households are parents with children.
Fewer flats than 74% of Irish towns: 8% of households
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
Internet at home: broadband for 79%, nothing for 19% (typical: 7.6%). On households without a car or van, Athea sits lower than 58% of Irish towns: 16%. The usual figure: just over one in ten households live in a flat or apartment across Ireland’s towns.
Median household income: €49,890 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
€49,890 a year before tax puts the median household 17% below Ireland (€60,120). Co. Limerick’s median household income is €55,950.
11% of residents were born outside Ireland, below 96% of Irish towns
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 (5.3%) and outside the EU and UK (4.6%). Typically, just over a fifth of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns. Compared with other places, residents with another country’s citizenship are scarce here: 3.4%, fewer than in 99% of Irish towns.
Of Athea’s residents, 35% can speak Irish
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
Daily speakers of Irish outside education are about as common here as across Ireland’s towns, at 0.8%. Irish speakers number 137, or 35% of residents aged 3 and over.
No religion: 2.7% of residents, a lower share than 99% 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: 96% of Athea · Co. Limerick’s towns 82% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Nine in ten residents said they are Catholic (Ireland’s towns: 71%). The benchmark for residents with no religion across Ireland’s towns: 17%.
Married residents 15 and over: 38%, a higher share than 75% 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.
By its share of unpaid carers (6.5%), Athea is above 90% of Irish towns. Typically, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Below 87% of Irish towns: 21% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher
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, 9.7% of adults finished at primary level or earlier; in Athea, 18%, and 6.3% hold a postgraduate qualification. As a reference point, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Every neighbour of Athea has a younger population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athea | 418 | — | 42.8 | 22% | 42% |
| Abbeyfeale | 2,206 | 8.5 km | 40.8 | 18% | 39% |
| Listowel | 4,794 | 13.4 km | 42.6 | 21% | 38% |
| Newcastle West | 7,209 | 15.6 km | 37.4 | 15% | 43% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Limerick’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Limerick’s towns of 2,500 or more and over 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 Athea’s residents
What is the population of Athea?
Athea had 418 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 9% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Athea?
The median age is 42.8. 23% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Athea?
35% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (137 people), and 0.8% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Athea?
96% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 11% were born abroad and 3.4% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Athea?
90% are Catholic, 2.7% have no religion and 7% another religion; 1.2% didn’t say.
Is Athea good for families?
42% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 23% of residents are under 18. Schools near Athea are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Athea?
Median gross household income in Athea was €49,890 in 2022, against €55,950 across Co. Limerick 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).