Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 860 residents in Co. Mayo.
Balla takes 4 years of the median household income to buy the median home, at €225,000. The car is not the only way to work here: 8% of commuters walk, cycle or use public transport. 11 of its buildings are on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. The median sale price, 2023 to 2025: €243,500.
There are no grades for Balla: Irish towns need 1,000 residents for them.
The 3 things Balla does most differently from other towns.
The record adds 15 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 6%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Balla.
Families in Balla have 2 schools within 3 km to choose from: 1 primary school and 1 secondary school. For secondary school, the closest is Balla Secondary School, 0.6 km from the town.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Naisiunta Balla Aluinn Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 202 | Catholic |
| Balla Secondary SchoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 476 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Balla | Co. Mayo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +30% | +10% | +4% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 33% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 18% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 4% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland publishes no school-by-school results, which is why these cards have no letters.
100% of its homes sit in high-radon areas, near Co. Mayo’s towns (97%) and higher than Irish towns (0%). The ground under Balla carries no high landslide susceptibility. Its homes mostly stand clear of low ground by water.
| Share of homes | Balla | Co. Mayo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 97% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 1.7% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
January nights bottom out at 2.5°C in Balla, near Co. Mayo’s towns (2.6°C) and lower than Irish towns (2.9°C). This Co. Mayo town sees July afternoons of 18.9°C on average. A year brings 1,301 mm of rain to Balla.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Balla | Co. Mayo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.9°C | 18.7°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,301 mm | 1,314 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 2.5°C | 2.6°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.9°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
At the census, 1.1% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. 89% of Balla’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than both Co. Mayo’s towns (87%) and Irish towns (88%). In the HSE West and North West health region, just over a third of people hold a medical card.
| Census 2022 | Balla | Co. Mayo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 1.1% | 2.4% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 89% | 87% | 88% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.8% | 5.3% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Social housing holds 6% of households, below Co. Mayo’s towns (12%) and Irish towns (13%) alike. Private renters make up 19% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €225,000 | 32 |
| Housing | Balla | Co. Mayo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 74% | 54% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 6% | 12% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 19% | 34% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €225K | €190K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Its paths and tracks come to 0.3 km per km², close to Co. Mayo’s towns (0.6 km per km²) and below Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Among the protected sites near Balla is Balla Turlough SAC. 84% of homes have green space within 400 m.
| Outdoors | Balla | Co. Mayo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 6.8% | 3.2% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.3 km per km² | 0.6 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Near a park | 84% | 85% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 4% | 3.4% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Later in the week, highs run between 7°C and 10°C, peaking on Friday. The forecast for Balla beside its normal weather: a typical November day reaches 11°C and drops to 5°C at night. It should stay dry today, with a fresh breeze of up to 22 km/h and a low near 6°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 402 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 257 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 275 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 366 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Workers spend 22.5 min getting to work, on average. 84% of commuters drove, above both Co. Mayo’s towns (74%) and Irish towns (66%). Home was the main workplace for 7.8% of workers at the census.
| Census 2022 | Balla | Co. Mayo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 74% | 67% | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.8% | 11% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 41% | 55% | 31% |
| Average trip | 22.5 min | 20.8 min | 27.6 min |
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.
The share of residents under 15 is 22%. People aged 15 to 24 make up nearly a tenth of the town, below Co. Mayo’s towns (11%) and Irish towns (12%) alike. Retirement age and beyond: 14% of residents are 65 or older.
Women make up 50.6% of Balla
435 women and 425 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Balla | Co. Mayo | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 14% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 5.8% | 9.5% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 45% | 40% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.2% | 5.8% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 32% | 31% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Mayo and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Turnout at the last local elections was 58%, about level with Co. Mayo’s towns (60%) and above Irish towns (46%). Mayo County Council runs Balla: Ireland has one tier of local government, with no town council below it. General election turnout was 64%. No party holds a majority on Mayo County Council: Fine Gael lead with 10 of 30 seats, short of the 16 needed.
| Turnout | Balla | Co. Mayo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 58% | 60% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 64% | 64% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 6.1% of the total, above both Co. Mayo’s towns (4.4%) and Irish towns (3.4%). The ground here holds 15 recorded archaeological sites.
| Heritage | Balla | Co. Mayo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 128 | 85 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 6.1% | 4.4% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Balla. Best known first.
The national inventory of architectural heritage lists 11 buildings in Balla, each rated of regional importance. 15 archaeological sites are on the record here.
One notable person was born in Balla; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Sally Rooney: Frank Barat, CC BY 4.0 · John D'Alton: Rolls Press (Popperfoto), Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balla | 860 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kiltimagh | 1,232 | 10 | — | A− | B+ | B+ |
| Claremorris | 3,857 | 12 | A+ | A− | B | A− |
| Castlebar | 13,054 | 12 | B | B | B | B− |
| Knock | 1,029 | 14 | — | A | A | B |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Balla had 860 people at the 2022 census, up from 806 in 2016: 6.7% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Balla is 39.3, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Mayo
860 people live in Balla, in the area of Mayo 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). 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).