Photo: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0Ballymahon sits below 93% of Irish towns for residents who describe themselves as White Irish (57%)
Shared households of unrelated adults: 9.3% here and 4.7% across Ireland’s towns. Meanwhile, 38% of households are parents with children, a lower share than in 72% of Irish towns. At the 2022 Census Ballymahon was home to 1,714 people in 645 households. Locally, 16% of households live in a flat or apartment.
What stands out about the people of Ballymahon
More born abroad than most towns
41% of residents were born abroad, against 32% across Co. Longford’s towns and 22% across Ireland’s towns. The largest groups were born outside the EU and UK (14%) and in Poland (11%); 36% are citizens of another country. Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
43% of residents describe a background other than White Irish, more than in 93% of Irish towns. The largest groups after White Irish are Other White (30%), Other, including mixed (6.5%) and Black or Black Irish (2.6%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Growth of +11% since 2016 puts Ballymahon ahead of 70% 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.
The median across Ireland’s towns is +8%, and across Co. Longford’s towns +11%.
Half of Ballymahon is under 37.3, younger than 55% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
15% of residents are 65 or over, against 14% across Ireland’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 35–39, with 9.6% of residents.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Longford 50.5%, Ireland 51.2%.
Only 8.8% of residents 15 and over are students in Ballymahon
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
Across Ireland’s towns, just over a third of residents are in the professional, managerial and technical classes and 15% in the semi-skilled and unskilled classes; in Ballymahon, 21% and 18%. Residents who moved in within the year account for 8%.
28% of households are one person living alone, more than in 69% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Longford’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
A household here has 2.6 people on average; across Ireland’s towns, 2.7. Measured more widely, nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone across Ireland’s towns.
Ballymahon ranks above 65% of Irish towns on households without a car or van: 20%
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% of households are on broadband; 13% have no internet connection (typical: 7.6%). Holiday homes: 0.4% of the total. Typically, 17% of households have no car or van across Ireland’s towns.
The midpoint household income is €43,470 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
A median gross household income of €43,470 sits 28% below Ireland (€60,120). That compares with €47,220 across Co. Longford.
More residents born abroad than 94% of Irish towns: 41% in Ballymahon
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.
Most residents from abroad were born outside the EU and UK (14%) or in Poland (11%). Residents born outside Ireland make up 22% across Ireland’s towns. 36% of residents are citizens of another country, more than in 94% of Irish towns.
Below 99% of Irish towns: 0.4% of residents speak Irish daily outside education
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
348 residents, just over a quarter of those aged 3 and over, can speak Irish. In Co. Longford, Drumlish has the highest share (0.8%). As a reference point, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
11% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 89% 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: 57% of Ballymahon · Co. Longford’s towns 61% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Across Ireland’s towns, 71% of residents said they are Catholic; in Ballymahon, 76%. The wider picture: 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns. Leading the other groups after White Irish: Other White (30%), Other, including mixed (6.5%) and Black or Black Irish (2.6%).
Ballymahon ranks below 87% of Irish towns on unpaid carers: 4.2%
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.
On the census count, 35% of residents 15 and over are married. About 70 residents (4.2%) give regular unpaid care (Ireland’s towns 5.4%).
In Ballymahon, 23% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, fewer than in 83% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
5.7% of Ballymahon’s adults hold a postgraduate qualification, and 19% finished their education at primary level or earlier (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). As a yardstick, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
A younger town than 1 of the 3 around it: Ballymahon
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballymahon | 1,714 | — | 37.3 | 15% | 38% |
| Edgeworthstown | 2,199 | 18.2 km | 35.8 | 11% | 43% |
| Longford | 10,952 | 18.4 km | 36.7 | 14% | 41% |
| Moate | 3,013 | 18.8 km | 39 | 15% | 44% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Longford’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Co. Longford has fewer than five towns of 2,500 or more, so its figure is the median of its towns of 1,000 or more; the national figure is the median of 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 Ballymahon’s residents
What is the population of Ballymahon?
Ballymahon had 1,714 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 11% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Ballymahon?
The median age is 37.3. 23% are under 18 and 15% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Ballymahon?
26% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (348 people), and 0.4% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Ballymahon?
57% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 41% were born abroad and 36% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Ballymahon?
76% are Catholic, 11% have no religion and 13% another religion; 19% didn’t say.
Is Ballymahon good for families?
38% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 23% of residents are under 18. Schools near Ballymahon are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Ballymahon?
Median gross household income in Ballymahon was €43,470 in 2022, against €47,220 across Co. Longford 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).