Photo: Jo Turner · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Knock is over 49, older than 99% of Irish towns
The figure for one-person households is 46% in Knock and 24% across Ireland’s towns. More holiday homes than in 97% of Irish towns: 6.9%. At the 2022 Census, 1,029 people lived in the town, in 435 households. Census figures put residents who said they are Catholic at 85% here.
What stands out about the people of Knock
Older than most towns
Half of Knock’s residents are under 49 and half over; the typical median across Irish towns is 37.6. 33% are 65 or over, against 14% across Ireland’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Since 2016, Knock has changed by +5%, slower than 68% 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.
For comparison, the median is +8% across Ireland’s towns and +9% across Co. Mayo’s towns.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 33% in Knock, more than in 99% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 7.6%, against 12% across Ireland’s towns. For comparison, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
56% women, 44% men
About 79 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Mayo 51.6%, Ireland 51.2%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Students among residents 15 and over: 6%, a lower share than 99% of Irish towns
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
Across Ireland’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 7.5%; Knock has 12%. As a yardstick, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 97% 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.
Households of parents with children: 28%, below 88% of Irish towns. 4.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
14% of households live in a flat or apartment, a share 58% of Irish towns don’t reach
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
Most homes are connected: 78% have broadband, and 19% have no internet (typical: 7.6%). Here, 17% of households have no car or van. Against that, 12% of households live in a flat or apartment across Ireland’s towns.
€37,560 a year: where the middle household sits
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 €37,560 a year before tax: 38% under the Ireland median (€60,120). Countywide, Co. Mayo has a median of €48,670.
A higher share of residents born outside Ireland than 62% of Irish towns, at 25%
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 two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the UK (7.7%) and elsewhere in the EU (7%). Typically, 22% of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns. Few places have as many residents with another country’s citizenship: 17% here, more than in 62% of Irish towns.
1.6% of residents speak Irish daily outside education, a share 81% of Irish towns don’t reach
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
Irish speakers number 425, or 44% of residents aged 3 and over. The usual figure: 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
No religion: 5.7% of residents, a lower share than 99% 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: 79% of Knock · Co. Mayo’s towns 69% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White Irish, are Other White (13%), Asian or Asian Irish (4.6%) and Irish Traveller (1%). More residents who describe themselves as White Irish than in 55% of Irish towns: 79%. Against that, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns.
Knock ranks below 76% of Irish towns on 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.
6.7% of residents give unpaid care; across Ireland’s towns the figure is 5.4%. The wider picture: 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Adults with a degree or higher: 32%, a lower share than 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
At the top, 10% of adults have a postgraduate qualification; at the other end, 15% finished at primary level or earlier, against 9.7% across Ireland’s towns. The benchmark for adults with a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns: 36%.
No nearby town is as old as Knock
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knock | 1,029 | — | 49 | 33% | 28% |
| Kiltimagh | 1,232 | 8.0 km | 41.4 | 18% | 37% |
| Claremorris | 3,857 | 9.5 km | 37.4 | 13% | 38% |
| Ballyhaunis | 2,773 | 10.3 km | 34.5 | 12% | 45% |
| Swinford | 1,459 | 16.5 km | 44.1 | 24% | 34% |
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 Knock’s residents
What is the population of Knock?
Knock had 1,029 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Knock?
The median age is 49. 19% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Knock?
44% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (425 people), and 1.6% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Knock?
79% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 25% were born abroad and 17% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Knock?
85% are Catholic, 5.7% have no religion and 8.9% another religion; 3.9% didn’t say.
Is Knock good for families?
28% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 19% of residents are under 18. Schools near Knock are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Knock?
Median gross household income in Knock was €37,560 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).