Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Co. Louth has a population of 1,528.
Carlingford’s strongest subject is health — bad health runs at 89 and disability at 103 per 100 expected for its ages. Natural hazards weigh more here: an estimated 32% of homes are above the radon reference level. Work and incomes lag: the unemployment rate is 12%, with 65% of 15 to 64s in work. Half the homes sold for more than €315,000, a price of 7.9 times what the median household earns.
Figures: health and work, CSO Census 2022 · radon, EPA · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO. Carlingford is graded subject by subject, but Irish towns need 2,500 residents for an overall grade.
Rents for this town aren't published on their own, so its Cost Grade uses the county's average rent. Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level.
The 3 things Carlingford does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Carlingford with Irish towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Irish towns →
52 buildings on the National Inventory inside Carlingford.
The record adds 24 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 8%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Carlingford.
Low-lying near the coast: 3.7% of homes, above Co. Louth’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%) alike. Shelling Hill/Templetown, 7 km from Carlingford, is the closest bathing water; it was rated excellent in 2025.
| Share of homes | Carlingford | Co. Louth | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 6.2% | under 0.1% | 0% |
| Low-lying near the coast | 3.7% | 0% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 33% | 35% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
43% of trips took under 15 minutes, above Co. Louth’s towns (41%) and Irish towns (31%) alike. The commute to work averages 29.5 min. Driving is how 73% of commuters got to work at the census.
| Census 2022 | Carlingford | Co. Louth | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €40,101 | €48,907 | €57,760 |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 43% | 41% | 31% |
| Average trip | 29.5 min | 27 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 65% | 63% | 68% |
CSO, Census 2022 travel to work, work and education · CSO Geographical Profiles of Income 2022 · Live Register · Census day was 3 April 2022, with working from home still common; shares are of those who travelled.
6.7% of residents in Carlingford care, unpaid, for a relative or friend. Allowing for its ages, Carlingford has 103 residents with a disability per 100 expected, lower than Co. Louth’s towns (109) and near Irish towns (106). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 1.8% of the town.
| Census 2022 | Carlingford | Co. Louth | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 6.7% | 5.4% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 87% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Owners make up 49% of households. Private renters make up 27% of households, above both Co. Louth’s towns (20%) and Irish towns (22%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €317,000 | 104 |
| The last 12 months | €335,000 | 30 |
| Housing | Carlingford | Co. Louth | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 49% | 60% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 22% | 19% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 27% | 20% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €315K | €305K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Within 3 km of Carlingford there are 4 schools (4 primary schools).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S N Talamh na Manach Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 139 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Carlingford | Co. Louth | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −15% | +9% | +4% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 39% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 3% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
A year brings 1,053 mm of rain to Carlingford. A January night in Carlingford drops to 3.1°C on average, above both Co. Louth’s towns (2.7°C) and Irish towns (2.9°C). The nearest weather station is Dunsany, 66 km away.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Carlingford | Co. Louth | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 19.5°C | 19.8°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,053 mm | 826 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 3.1°C | 2.7°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Among the protected sites near Carlingford is Carlingford Lough SPA. Within 1 km, 6.3% of the land is woodland, above both Co. Louth’s towns (1.7%) and Irish towns (2.7%). Green space lies within 400 m of 67% of homes.
| Outdoors | Carlingford | Co. Louth | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 17% | 3.6% | 1.8% |
| Sea within 5 km | 32% | 5.5% | 0% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 6.3% | 1.7% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 67% | 74% | 92% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Some 2 mm of rain falls today; the wind stays gentle at 9 km/h, and the low reaches 8°C. Usually, November days warm to 11°C and nights cool to 5°C; Carlingford’s forecast is read against that. By December, a normal day reaches 9°C and a normal night 4°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 290 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 218 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 249 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 296 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
29% were born abroad, higher than both Co. Louth’s towns (25%) and Irish towns (22%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 10% of residents. Graduates make up 36% of adults.
Women make up 53.7% of Carlingford
821 women and 707 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Carlingford | Co. Louth | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 7.3% | 13% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 14% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 36% | 36% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.6% | 5.9% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 36% | 30% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Louth and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Sinn Féin lead Louth County Council with 7 of 29 seats, but no party has a majority: 15 are needed. 61% of voters cast a ballot at the general election. Louth County Council is the one council for Carlingford; Ireland has no town or county councils between it and the government.
| Turnout | Carlingford | Co. Louth | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 52% | 48% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 61% | 61% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The archaeological record lists 24 sites here. 7.8% of its homes were built before 1919, higher than both Co. Louth’s towns (4.5%) and Irish towns (3.4%). The national inventory of architectural heritage lists 52 buildings in Carlingford, each rated of regional importance.
| Heritage | Carlingford | Co. Louth | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 340 | 88 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 24 | 105 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 7.8% | 4.5% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Among the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Carlingford has more crime per resident than just over four fifths of them. In all, 23.5 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded a year, below Co. Louth’s towns (50.3) and Irish towns (54.3) alike. Burglary and damage add up to 5.3 per 1,000 residents each year. Assaults and harassment topped the graded crimes in Carlingford (2023–2025).
Not in the gradeTheft, public order and offences found by Garda checks (drugs, road traffic, dangerous acts) are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence, burglary and damage.
| Per 1,000 a year | Carlingford | Co. Louth | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 23.5 | 50.3 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 3 | 15.2 | 15.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 5.3 | 7.4 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 4.7 | 6.3 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Carlingford. Best known first.
CastleThe Mintin town
Castle · Office of Public WorksCarlingford Castle100 m outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumCarlingford Heritage Centrein townFortFortThe Tholsel Gatein townTheme parkTheme parkSky Park Outdoor Adventures300 m outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumGreenore Railway Museum2.6 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The national inventory of architectural heritage lists 52 buildings in Carlingford, each rated of regional importance. 24 archaeological sites are on the record here.
5 notable people were born in Carlingford.
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlingford | 1,528 | — | — | C+ | B− | B+ |
| Dundalk | 43,112 | 15 | C− | B− | C− | C+ |
| Dromiskin | 1,292 | 19 | — | C | A− | B |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Carlingford had 1,528 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,504 in 2016: 1.6% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Carlingford is 41.1, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
11% mostly work from home, and 43% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Louth
Carlingford has 1,528 people, in the area of Louth County Council. TownRatings uses the CSO’s 2022 Urban Areas as Ireland’s towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a county or a council area, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from Tailte Éireann’s boundaries and the CSO’s Census 2022 (CC BY 4.0)
Sources: CSO, Census 2022 Small Area Population Statistics (CC BY 4.0) · Tailte Éireann, Urban Areas and Electoral Divisions 2022 (CC BY 4.0) · TownRatings grades, run #544 (Irish towns only). 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).