More holiday homes than 96% of Irish towns: 6.3%
Compared with 4.7% across Ireland’s towns, 1.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. Census day 2022: 429 residents and 181 households in Kilkelly. Locally, 40% of households are one person living alone. Higher than in 88% of Irish towns: 80% of residents said they are Catholic.
Slower than most: +5% since 2016, behind 66% 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. Mayo’s towns +9%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 18%, a higher share than 77% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The largest age band is 35–39: nearly one in ten residents. Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 75% of Irish towns. On average, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns. In Westport, the oldest of Co. Mayo’s towns by this measure, it is 20%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Mayo 51.6%, Ireland 51.2%.
Kilkelly sits below 74% of Irish towns for residents who moved in within the year (5.9%)
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
Students among residents 15 and over: 9.5%, near enough the figure across Ireland’s towns. For comparison, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Ireland’s towns.
2.3 people per household, fewer than in 90% of Irish towns
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.
In Kilkelly, 41% of households are parents with children, beside 43% across Ireland’s towns.
A smaller share of households in flats than 96% of Irish towns: 2.2%
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
Just over four in five households are on broadband; 16% have no internet connection (typical: 7.6%). Locally, just over one in ten households have no car or van.
Before tax, the median household income is €40,760 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Half of households are below €40,760 a year before tax: 32% under the Ireland median (€60,120). For Co. Mayo, the figure is €48,670.
Kilkelly ranks above 68% of Irish towns on residents born outside Ireland: 27%
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.
The largest groups were born in the UK (14%) and elsewhere in the EU (6.6%). Residents born outside Ireland: 22% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison. 15% of residents are citizens of another country, about the same as across Ireland’s towns.
A lower share of daily speakers of Irish outside education than 99% of Irish towns, at 0.2%
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
The ability to speak Irish extends to 131 residents (32% of those aged 3 and over). The comparison figure for daily speakers of Irish outside education is 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
In Kilkelly, 11% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 90% 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: 75% of Kilkelly · Co. Mayo’s towns 69% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White Irish: 75% here and 78% across Ireland’s towns. Across the comparison, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns. Beyond White Irish, the biggest groups are Other White (16%), Irish Traveller (4.5%) and Asian or Asian Irish (3.1%).
In Kilkelly, 29% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 83% 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.
The share of unpaid carers is 3.7%, against 5.4% across Ireland’s towns. As a yardstick, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
19% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, fewer than in 90% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
4.7% of Kilkelly’s adults hold a postgraduate qualification, and 16% finished their education at primary level or earlier (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). Across Ireland’s towns, the share of adults with a degree or higher is 36%.
Among its 6 nearest neighbours, 4 are older than Kilkelly
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilkelly | 429 | — | 37.6 | 18% | 41% |
| Knock | 1,029 | 9.7 km | 49 | 33% | 28% |
| Kiltimagh | 1,232 | 10.0 km | 41.4 | 18% | 37% |
| Swinford | 1,459 | 10.1 km | 44.1 | 24% | 34% |
| Charlestown-Bellahy | 1,172 | 10.6 km | 38.7 | 16% | 39% |
| Ballyhaunis | 2,773 | 13.3 km | 34.5 | 12% | 45% |
| Ballaghaderreen | 2,387 | 18.2 km | 35.6 | 16% | 39% |
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 Kilkelly’s residents
What is the population of Kilkelly?
Kilkelly had 429 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Kilkelly?
The median age is 37.6. 25% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Kilkelly?
32% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (131 people), and 0.2% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Kilkelly?
75% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 27% were born abroad and 15% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Kilkelly?
80% are Catholic, 11% have no religion and 9.6% another religion; 2.8% didn’t say.
Is Kilkelly good for families?
41% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 25% of residents are under 18. Schools near Kilkelly are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Kilkelly?
Median gross household income in Kilkelly was €40,760 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).