Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The population grew 19% between 2016 and 2022. With 15,680 residents, it is a town in Co. Meath.
A town without an obvious weak point. On jobs & income it is strong — among 15 to 64s, 74% are in work; unemployment stands at 7%. Ashbourne grades A+ overall, better than almost every Irish town, and ranks #4 of 320 Irish towns. The median sale, €395,000, comes to 5.1 times what the median household here earns. Health is a strength too — bad health runs at 90 and disability at 94 per 100 expected for its ages.
Figures: work and health, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO.
This town's Hazard risk Grade uses radon and landslides only: open LiDAR heights don't cover enough of its homes to measure flooding, so flood isn't counted for or against it.
The 3 things Ashbourne does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Ashbourne 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 →
35 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
0% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ashbourne.
For secondary school, the closest is Ashbourne Community School, 1.1 km from the town. Families locally have 13 schools within 3 km to choose from: 10 primary schools and 3 secondary schools. Since 2019/20, pupils changed +2%, lower than both Co. Meath’s towns (+5%) and Irish towns (+4%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Nais DeaglainLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 621 | Catholic |
| Ratoath CollegeLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 1,132 | Inter-denominational |
| Gaelscoil na Mí GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 242 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Ashbourne | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 15% | 7% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 0% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +2% | +5% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · These schools carry no letter or result: Ireland doesn’t release them school by school.
Under 1% of homes in Ashbourne are estimated to have radon above the reference level. No part of Ashbourne is mapped as high landslide susceptibility. Only a handful of its homes, if any, sit low beside water.
| Share of homes | Ashbourne | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
6.6% of the labour force were unemployed, lower than both Co. Meath’s towns (7.9%) and Irish towns (9.2%). On average, the journey to work lasts 29.2 min. Walking, cycling and public transport carried nearly a fifth of commuters at the census.
| Census 2022 | Ashbourne | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €77,553 | €69,166 | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 74% | 70% | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.6% | 7.9% | 9.2% |
| Average trip | 29.2 min | 32.9 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.
92% of Ashbourne’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above both Co. Meath’s towns (90%) and Irish towns (88%). At the census, 1.2% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. Disability touches 17% of the town’s population.
| Census 2022 | Ashbourne | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a disability | 17% | 20% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 92% | 90% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.2% | 1.7% | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 4.5% | 4.9% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Homes saw 4.2 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, close to Co. Meath’s towns (4.3) and below Irish towns (6.4). Among the 118 Irish towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Ashbourne has less crime per resident than just over four fifths of them. Violent crime runs at 3.7 per 1,000 residents a year.
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 | Ashbourne | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 4.2 | 4.3 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 3.7 | 3.7 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
A year brings 830 mm of rain, about level with Co. Meath’s towns (855 mm) and below Irish towns (937 mm). Day and night, summer and winter, Ashbourne averages 9.9°C. In January, overnight lows in Ashbourne settle at 2.2°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ashbourne | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.2°C | 2.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.9°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
| Rain a year | 830 mm | 855 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Within 1 km, 0.3% of the land is woodland, lower than both Co. Meath’s towns (1.1%) and Irish towns (2.7%). One park, 26 ha of green space: that is the measure of Ashbourne’s parkland. For 98% of homes, green space is under 400 m away.
| Outdoors | Ashbourne | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.3% | 1.1% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 98% | 92% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0% | 1.1% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 1.6 km per km² | 1.3 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
The heaviest rain of the week is due on Tuesday, around 5 mm. Long-term averages for Ashbourne put November days at 11°C and November nights at 4°C. Rain totals about 1 mm today, the wind freshens to 25 km/h, and the low is 8°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 208 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 175 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 207 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 240 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24, below Co. Meath’s towns (14%) and Irish towns (12%) alike. People 65 and over make up nearly a tenth of the town. Also worth knowing: among adults, 38% have a degree.
50.8% of Ashbourne’s residents are women
7,967 women and 7,713 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ashbourne | Co. Meath | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 26% | 24% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 33% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 26% | 24% |
| 65+ | 8.3% | 9.5% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 6.2% | 7.9% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 38% | 37% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7.3% | 7% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 38% | 35% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Meath and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Meath County Council has no ruling majority: Independent hold 11 of its 40 seats, short of the 21 needed. One council serves Ashbourne: Meath County Council. The town sits in the Ashbourne local electoral area, which elects 6 councillors.
| Turnout | Ashbourne | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 60% | 60% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 47% | 47% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
For its size, Ashbourne has 1 inventory buildings per 10,000 residents, below Co. Meath’s towns (29) and Irish towns (48) alike. 35 archaeological sites are on the record. The pre-1919 share of homes is 0.3%.
| Heritage | Ashbourne | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 1 | 29 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 35 | 22 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 0.3% | 1.6% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
74% of households own their home, near Co. Meath’s towns (75%) and higher than Irish towns (61%). A buyer in Ashbourne paid 93% more for a typical home in 2025 than in 2010: €485K against €251K. The social rented sector houses 8% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €499,900 | 171 |
| Second-hand homes | €337,200 | 468 |
| The last 12 months | €489,000 | 302 |
| Housing | Ashbourne | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 8% | 9% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 74% | 75% | 61% |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,755 | €1,539 | €1,606 |
| Median sale price | €395K | €375K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Ashbourne. Best known first.
Theme parkEmerald Park3.4 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionWooly Ward's Farm2.5 km outside town, to the eastArt galleryArt galleryClarke Art2.4 km outside town, to the westZooZooPet Farm800 m outside town, to the southeastZooZooPetting Farm3.8 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Ashbourne’s built heritage counts 2 inventory entries, each of regional standing. 35 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
3 notable people were born in Ashbourne.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashbourne | 15,680 | — | A+ | B− | B+ | A− |
| Ratoath | 10,077 | 4.2 | A+ | C+ | B+ | A+ |
| Dunshaughlin | 6,644 | 9.5 | A | C | A− | A |
| Hollystown Dublin | 12,884 | 10 | B | C− | C+ | A |
| Dunboyne | 7,155 | 12 | A+ | C | B+ | A+ |
| Clonee | 1,205 | 12 | — | C+ | B+ | B− |
| Mulhuddart Dublin | 19,252 | 12 | B− | B | C+ | C |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Ashbourne had 15,680 people at the 2022 census, up from 13,170 in 2016: 19.1% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Ashbourne is 35.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
12% mostly work from home, and 33% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Meath
15,680 people live in Ashbourne, in the area of Meath 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).