Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.054% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, below 95% of Irish towns
In Longford, 28% of households have no car or van, beside 17% across Ireland’s towns. The 2022 Census put the town’s population at 10,952, in 4,043 households. Here, 29% of households are one person living alone. With a median age of 36.7, Longford is younger than 62% of Irish towns.
What stands out about the people of Longford
A mix of backgrounds
46% of residents describe a background other than White Irish, more than in 95% of Irish towns. The largest groups after White Irish are Other White (22%), Irish Traveller (6.8%) and Other, including mixed (6.7%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
More born abroad than most towns
35% of residents were born abroad, against 32% across Co. Longford’s towns and 22% across Ireland’s towns. The largest groups were born elsewhere in the EU (12%) and outside the EU and UK (9.2%); 27% are citizens of another country. Where people were born ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Longford’s population changed by +8% since 2016, more than in 51% 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.
12% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 56% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
40–44 is the most common age band: nearly one in ten residents. In Lanesborough-Ballyleague, the oldest of Co. Longford’s towns by this measure, it is 19%.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Longford, 36.7. The typical town is 37.6.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Longford 50.5%, Ireland 51.2%.
22% of residents belong to the professional, managerial and technical classes
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
Work here tilts toward process, plant and machine operatives, at 14% against a typical 7.8%. Census figures put students among residents 15 and over at 9.6% in Longford.
Longford households average 2.6 people, smaller than in 58% 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.
Against a figure of 43% across Ireland’s towns, the share of households of parents with children in Longford comes in at 41%. Across Longford, 5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
A higher share of households in flats than 55% of Irish towns, at 13%
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; 12% have no internet connection (typical: 7.6%). Locally, 0.3% of homes are holiday homes.
The midpoint household income is €40,410 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
At €40,410 a year before tax, the median household income is 33% under that of Ireland (€60,120). For Co. Longford, the figure is €47,220.
35% born outside Ireland, more than in 89% 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 40%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 40%
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.
15% of residents are citizens of another country across Ireland’s towns, against 27% in Longford. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born elsewhere in the EU (12%) and outside the EU and UK (9.2%). As a yardstick, 22% of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns.
31% of Longford’s residents 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: 0.8%, near enough the figure across Ireland’s towns. Some 2,822 people here, 31% of residents aged 3 and over, can speak Irish. It is the highest share of Co. Longford’s 6 towns of 2,500+.
11% said they have no religion, fewer than in 91% 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: 54% of Longford · Co. Longford’s towns 61% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White Irish, are Other White (22%), Irish Traveller (6.8%) and Other, including mixed (6.7%). Residents with no religion make up 17% across Ireland’s towns. 71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns, against 72% in Longford.
Longford sits below 74% of Irish towns for married residents 15 and over (31%)
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.
Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 4.9%, from the figure across Ireland’s towns. Elsewhere, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
22% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, fewer than in 84% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
A postgraduate qualification is the highest level for 6.7% of adults; primary level or less for 17% (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). Across Ireland’s towns, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher.
The 15th youngest of 41 towns of 9,563 to 12,743 people
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest is Summerhill (30.5) and the oldest Foxrock (44.7). Nearest to Longford in age: Athy (36.6), Kilmainham (36.7), Finglas South (37) and Rush (37.1).
Median age: 2 of the 4 towns around Longford are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longford | 10,952 | — | 36.7 | 14% | 41% |
| Drumlish | 1,124 | 10.5 km | 35.7 | 11% | 47% |
| Edgeworthstown | 2,199 | 12.3 km | 35.8 | 11% | 43% |
| Lanesborough-Ballyleague | 1,733 | 14.9 km | 39.8 | 19% | 38% |
| Ballymahon | 1,714 | 18.4 km | 37.3 | 15% | 38% |
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 Longford’s residents
What is the population of Longford?
Longford had 10,952 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 8% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Longford?
The median age is 36.7, younger than 62% of Irish towns. 27% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Longford?
31% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (2,822 people), and 0.8% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Longford?
54% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 35% were born abroad and 27% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Longford?
72% are Catholic, 11% have no religion and 17% another religion; 12% didn’t say.
Is Longford good for families?
41% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 27% of residents are under 18. Schools near Longford are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Longford?
Median gross household income in Longford was €40,410 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).