Photo: Marathon · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in flats: 61%, a higher share than 95% of Irish towns
The share of households of parents with children trails 90% of Irish towns: 24%. A median age of 35.4 (younger than just over three quarters of Irish towns) sets Dock apart: 6,258 residents in 2,528 households at the 2022 Census. Census figures put one-person households at 32% locally. Few places have so few residents who said they are Catholic: 50% here, fewer than in 93% of Irish towns.
What stands out about the people of Dock
More born abroad than most towns
43% of residents were born abroad, against 19% across Co. Limerick’s towns and 22% across Ireland’s towns. The largest groups were born outside the EU and UK (23%) and elsewhere in the EU (7.2%); 39% are citizens of another country. Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
48% of residents describe a background other than White Irish, more than in 96% of Irish towns. The largest groups after White Irish are Other White (20%), Asian or Asian Irish (14%) and Black or Black Irish (7.2%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Growing faster than most
Dock went from about 5,170 people in 2016 to 6,258 in 2022, +21%: faster growth than in 91% of Irish towns. Population change ↓
A neighbourhood of flats
61% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 95% of Irish towns. 43% have no car. Homes & cars ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Growth of +21% since 2016 puts Dock ahead of 91% 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.
For comparison, the median is +8% across Ireland’s towns and +9% across Co. Limerick’s towns.
Dock sits below 82% of Irish towns for residents aged 65 and over (9.4%)
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 35–39 than any other five-year age: 11% of residents, 1.4 times the share across Ireland’s towns. The median age in Dock is 35.4, lower than in 76% of Irish towns. The usual figure: 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns. For Dock, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 12%.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Dock, 35.4. The typical town is 37.6.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Limerick 51.2%, Ireland 51.2%.
Dock: 13% of residents 15 and over are students, above 81% of Irish towns
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
Among workers, elementary occupations stand out: 16%, against a typical 11%. For comparison, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns. On residents who moved in within the year, Dock sits higher than 86% of Irish towns: 13%.
In Dock, 19% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, more than in 92% of Irish towns
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.
Households average 2.4 people, against 2.7 across Ireland’s towns. By way of comparison, 4.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Ireland’s towns.
A larger share of households without a car or van than 92% of Irish towns: 43%
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
85% have broadband at home and 13% no internet at all (typical: 7.6%). The benchmark for households without a car or van across Ireland’s towns: 17%. The share of holiday homes stands at 0.3%.
Household income, middle of the range: €41,650 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Half of Dock’s households have a gross income below €41,650 a year, 31% under the median for Ireland (€60,120). Countywide, Co. Limerick has a median of €55,950.
Above 94% of Irish towns: 43% of residents were born outside Ireland
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 50%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 50%
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.
The share of residents with another country’s citizenship tops 95% of Irish towns: 39%. Most residents from abroad were born outside the EU and UK (23%) or elsewhere in the EU (7.2%). Residents born outside Ireland: 22% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison.
Able to speak Irish: 33% in Dock
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
Speakers of Irish: 1,506 residents, a third of those aged 3 and over. Compared with other places, daily speakers of Irish outside education are common here: 1.2%, more than in nearly three fifths of Irish towns.
52% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, below 96% 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: 52% of Dock · Co. Limerick’s towns 82% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White Irish, the biggest groups are Other White (20%), Asian or Asian Irish (14%) and Black or Black Irish (7.2%). 22% of residents said they have no religion, a higher share than in 74% of Irish towns. Across Ireland’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White Irish is 78%.
Only 28% of residents 15 and over are married in Dock
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.
Unpaid carers make up 3.5% of residents, against 5.4% across Ireland’s towns. The wider picture: 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Dock: 43% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, above 65% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
16% of Dock’s adults hold a postgraduate qualification, and 9.5% finished their education at primary level or earlier (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). Against that, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
12th lowest median age among 41 towns of 5,478 to 7,155
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
At the ends of the range sit Gillabbey (25.6), the youngest, and Sutton (45.4), the oldest. Nearest to Dock in age: Carrigtwohill (34.9), Eyre Square (35.1), Ballytruckle (36) and Glasheen (36.3).
Of the 6 towns nearest Dock, 5 are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census neighbourhood.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dock | 6,258 | — | 35.4 | 9.4% | 24% |
| Limerick City Centre | 3,434 | 0.7 km | 34.8 | 5.9% | 14% |
| Prospect and Newtown Pery | 4,122 | 0.8 km | 40.8 | 18% | 31% |
| Ballinacurra | 3,719 | 1.2 km | 38.6 | 18% | 33% |
| Farranshone | 7,874 | 1.4 km | 43.5 | 23% | 32% |
| Galvone | 5,412 | 1.4 km | 36.2 | 13% | 33% |
| Rathbane | 4,111 | 1.8 km | 37.9 | 15% | 47% |
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.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Neighbourhood figures are TownRatings sums of CSO Small Areas
Questions about Dock’s residents
What is the population of Dock?
Dock had 6,258 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its neighbourhood, 21% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Dock?
The median age is 35.4, younger than 76% of Irish towns. 18% are under 18 and 9.4% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Dock?
33% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (1,506 people), and 1.2% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Dock?
52% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 43% were born abroad and 39% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Dock?
50% are Catholic, 22% have no religion and 28% another religion; 24% didn’t say.
Is Dock good for families?
24% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 18% of residents are under 18. Schools near Dock are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Dock?
Median gross household income in Dock was €41,650 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 · Neighbourhood figures are TownRatings sums of CSO Small Areas. 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).