Photo: Bangers at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Shared households of unrelated adults: 0.9%, a lower share than 99% of Irish towns
5.2% of households have no car or van; across Ireland’s towns the figure is 17%. For Balla, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.5%. On residents who describe themselves as White Irish, Balla sits higher than 98% of Irish towns: 91%. This Co. Mayo town is home to 860 residents in 346 households, by the 2022 Census.
+7% since 2016, a pace below 56% 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.
Across Co. Mayo’s towns the median is +9%, and across Ireland’s towns +8%.
Half of Balla is over 39.3, older than 69% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
No age band is larger than 0–4: 9.4% of residents, 1.6 times the share across Ireland’s towns. 14% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 52% of Irish towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Mayo 51.6%, Ireland 51.2%.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 96% of Irish towns: 3.6%
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
Against a figure of 10% across Ireland’s towns, the share of students among residents 15 and over in Balla comes in at 8.4%. Across the comparison, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Ireland’s towns.
One-person homes: 29% of households in Balla
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Mayo’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Across Ireland’s towns, households average 2.7 people; in Balla, 2.5. On the census count, 43% of households are parents with children. Measured more widely, nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone across Ireland’s towns.
Balla sits below 96% of Irish towns for households in flats (2.6%)
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
On Census night 1.3% of homes were holiday homes and 12% stood vacant, against typical shares of 0.2% and 6%. The share of households with broadband is 92%; 7.4% have no internet at all (typical: 7.6%).
Half of households earn more than €56,810 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 €56,810 sits 6% below Ireland (€60,120). Across Co. Mayo the median is €48,670.
Fewer residents with another country’s citizenship than 98% of Irish towns: 5.7%
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 35%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
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.
Born outside Ireland: 15% of residents, against 22% across Ireland’s towns. 5.5% speak another language at home, most often Polish (1.4%); 1% speak English not well or not at all.
Daily speakers of Irish outside education: 1.9%, a higher share than 90% of Irish towns
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
357 residents, 45% of those aged 3 and over, can speak Irish. Measured more widely, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
A higher share of residents who said they are Catholic than 98% of Irish towns, at 85%
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: 91% of Balla · Co. Mayo’s towns 69% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Where 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns, Balla has 9.7%. To put it in context, 71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns. Other than White Irish, most residents describe themselves as Other White (7.6%), Other, including mixed (0.4%) and Irish Traveller (0.2%).
Married residents 15 and over make up 40% in Balla, more than in 89% of Irish towns
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 5.8%, close to the figure across Ireland’s towns. Across Ireland’s towns, 34% of residents 15 and over are married.
Adults with a degree or higher make up 32% in Balla, less than in 59% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Postgraduate qualifications are held by 9.4% of adults here, while 5.8% stopped at primary level or earlier (9.7% across Ireland’s towns). To put it in context, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Median age: 2 of the 4 towns around Balla are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balla | 860 | — | 39.3 | 14% | 43% |
| Kiltimagh | 1,232 | 10.0 km | 41.4 | 18% | 37% |
| Claremorris | 3,857 | 12.2 km | 37.4 | 13% | 38% |
| Castlebar | 13,054 | 12.3 km | 38.7 | 16% | 38% |
| Knock | 1,029 | 13.9 km | 49 | 33% | 28% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Mayo’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Mayo’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.
Questions about Balla’s residents
What is the population of Balla?
Balla had 860 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 7% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Balla?
The median age is 39.3. 26% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Balla?
45% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (357 people), and 1.9% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Balla?
91% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 15% were born abroad and 5.7% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Balla?
85% are Catholic, 9.7% have no religion and 5.1% another religion; 3.8% didn’t say.
Is Balla good for families?
43% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 26% of residents are under 18. Schools near Balla are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Balla?
Median gross household income in Balla was €56,810 in 2022, against €48,670 across Co. Mayo 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).