#1Newcastle West
7,209 peopleScore 60.5·#58 of 320 Irish towns
Strongest: cost of living A, safety B+·lowest: hazard risk C−
Newcastle West, #1 on this list · Photo: Harold Strong (CC BY-SA 2.0)Limerick · 2026
Best places to live in County Limerick
Top place among the 15 towns ranked in County Limerick goes to Newcastle West, which stands #58 of 320 across the country. In second place stands Farranshone, graded B. One town on the list grades A− or better. The scores on the list span 60.5 at the top to 21.6 at the bottom.
The overall score, sorted within the county; the letter compares each town with every town in Ireland of 2,500+, and its national rank sits beside it. How grades work
#1A−
#2Farranshone
7,874 peopleScore 52.4·#122 of 320 Irish towns
Strongest: jobs & income A−, health A−·lowest: safety C−
#3Dooradoyle
18,593 peopleScore 45.7·#181 of 320 Irish towns
Strongest: jobs & income A, health B+·lowest: safety D
All 15 towns, ranked
By overall score against Irish towns; ranks are within the county, and each national rank links to the national list.
15 towns
#TownScoreGrade · national rankWhat drives it
1Newcastle West7,209 people60.5top 17.9%A−#58 of 320 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, safety B+·lowest: hazard risk C−
2Farranshone7,874 people52.4top 37.9%B#122 of 320 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A−, health A−·lowest: safety C−
3Dooradoyle18,593 people45.7bottom 43.6%C+#181 of 320 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A, health B+·lowest: safety D
4Annacotty3,398 people43.4bottom 36.1%C+#205 of 320 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A+, health A−·lowest: cost of living D
5Ballinacurra3,719 people39.3bottom 27.0%C#234 of 320 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income B+, walkability B+·lowest: safety D
6Castletroy15,093 people36.4bottom 21.3%C−#252 of 320 nationallyStrongest: health A−, hazard risk B+·lowest: cost of living D
7Limerick City Centre3,434 people35.2bottom 17.2%C−#265 of 320 nationallyStrongest: walkability A+, hazard risk B−·lowest: safety D
8Garryowen5,428 people32.6bottom 12.9%D#279 of 320 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk B+, walkability B·lowest: safety D
9Caherdavin7,364 people29.6bottom 7.8%D#295 of 320 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk B−, jobs & income C·lowest: safety C−
10Dock6,258 people28.3bottom 6.6%D#299 of 320 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, hazard risk B+·lowest: safety D
11Ballynanty3,030 people25.5bottom 2.8%D−#311 of 320 nationallyStrongest: walkability A−, hazard risk B·lowest: health D−
12Corbally and King's Island14,213 people24.5bottom 1.9%D−#314 of 320 nationallyStrongest: walkability B+, hazard risk C+·lowest: health D
13Galvone5,412 people23.4bottom 0.6%D−#318 of 320 nationallyStrongest: walkability A−, hazard risk A−·lowest: health D−
14Prospect and Newtown Pery4,122 people23.4bottom 0.3%D−#319 of 320 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, hazard risk A−·lowest: health D−
15Rathbane4,111 people21.6bottom 0.1%D−#320 of 320 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk B+, walkability C+·lowest: health D−
Quick answers
Questions people ask
How are these towns ranked?
By the overall grade, which blends six graded subjects (safety, cost of living, health, jobs & income, walkability and hazard risk) from public data, each comparing a town with every town in Ireland of 1,000 or more. The rank is among the towns of 2,500 or more in County Limerick, where five or more have an overall grade.
Why isn’t my town on this list?
The list covers places of 2,500 or more with an overall grade. Smaller places, and towns missing figures the overall grade needs, show their grades on their own pages; every town is listed on the County Limerick page.
County by county
Best places to live, county by county
Photos: Newcastle West, Harold Strong (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Farranshone, Marathon (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Dooradoyle, LukeG 1001 (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking Irish towns against each other only, run #58 of 4 November 2026. 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).