Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
6,644 residents make their home in this town in Co. Meath. Between 2016 and 2022, its population grew by 46%.
Much to like here, and you pay for it. With an A overall, Dunshaughlin sits #5 of 11 in Co. Meath. Nationally, it does better than 93% of Irish towns. Where it does best is health: bad health runs at 79 and disability at 92 per 100 expected for its ages. It also does well on safety: for every 1,000 residents, gardaí record 3.1 violent crimes and 3.2 burglaries or acts of criminal damage a year. The drawback is cost of living — prices run to a median €455,000, 5.2 times local household income. Hazards are a real consideration: an estimated 29% of its homes exceed the radon reference level.
Figures: health, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · radon, EPA.
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 Dunshaughlin does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Dunshaughlin 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 →
39 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
1% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Dunshaughlin.
Self-reported good health: 93% of Dunshaughlin’s residents. At the census, 1.1% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, below Co. Meath’s towns (1.7%) and Irish towns (2%) alike. Disability touches 17% of the town’s population.
| Census 2022 | Dunshaughlin | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 93% | 90% | 88% |
| With a disability | 17% | 20% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.1% | 1.7% | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 4.3% | 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
For secondary school, the closest is Community College Dunshaughlin, 0.4 km from the town. Irish-medium schools make up 20%, higher than both Co. Meath’s towns (7%) and Irish towns (8%). 5 schools lie within 3 km of the town: 3 primary schools and 2 secondary schools.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Seachnaill NaofaLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 622 | Catholic |
| Community College DunshaughlinLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 1,120 | Inter-denominational |
| Scoil na Rithe GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 222 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Dunshaughlin | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +30% | +2% | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 20% | 7% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 0% | 35% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Results by school aren’t published in Ireland, so the cards carry none.
The ground under Dunshaughlin carries no high landslide susceptibility. Hardly any of its homes sit low beside water.
| Share of homes | Dunshaughlin | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The graded crime recorded most in Dunshaughlin was assaults and harassment (2023–2025). In all, 30.2 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded a year, below Co. Meath’s towns (36.7) and Irish towns (54.3) alike.
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 | Dunshaughlin | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 3.2 | 4.3 | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 30.2 | 36.7 | 54.3 |
| Violent crime | 3.1 | 3.7 | 5.7 |
| Theft | 8.3 | 10 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
In work: three quarters of residents aged 15 to 64, higher than both Co. Meath’s towns (70%) and Irish towns (68%). The commute to work averages 34.7 min. At the census, 13% of commuters got to work without a car.
| Census 2022 | Dunshaughlin | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €87,884 | €69,166 | €57,760 |
| Average trip | 34.7 min | 32.9 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 75% | 70% | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.1% | 7.9% | 9.2% |
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.
Renting privately is how 13% of households live. Social housing holds 8% of households, below Co. Meath’s towns (9%) and Irish towns (13%) alike. No town in Co. Meath costs more to buy into than Dunshaughlin, at €455,000, the highest of 12.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €455,000 | 385 |
| Second-hand homes | €455,000 | 171 |
| The last 12 months | €480,000 | 209 |
| Housing | Dunshaughlin | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 79% | 74% | 61% |
| Median sale price | €455K | €375K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 13% | 16% | 22% |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,850 | €1,539 | €1,606 |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Across the year, Dunshaughlin averages 9.6°C. July afternoons reach 19.8°C here, near both Co. Meath’s towns (19.9°C) and Irish towns (19.9°C). November is the wettest month in the town, with 92 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Dunshaughlin | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average temperature over the year | 9.6°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 1.8°C | 2.1°C | 2.9°C |
| July high | 19.8°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 874 mm | 855 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
For 100% of homes, green space is under 400 m away. Woodland covers 0.4% of the land within 1 km, below Co. Meath’s towns (1.1%) and Irish towns (2.7%) alike.
| Outdoors | Dunshaughlin | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 100% | 92% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.4% | 1.1% | 2.7% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0% | 1.1% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 1.5 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.
Rain peaks later in the week on Tuesday, at about 5 mm for the day. Set beside Dunshaughlin’s forecast, a normal November runs from 4°C at night to 10°C by day. Some 1 mm of rain falls today, driven by wind of up to 26 km/h; the low reaches 8°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 224 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 182 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 216 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 6°C | 252 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
The share of residents under 15 is 24%. The 15-to-24 age group: 11%, lower than both Co. Meath’s towns (14%) and Irish towns (12%). On top of that, nearly one in ten residents have reached 65.
50.5% of Dunshaughlin’s residents are women
3,357 women and 3,287 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Dunshaughlin | Co. Meath | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 24% | 24% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 35% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 26% | 24% |
| 65+ | 8.1% | 9.5% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 4.9% | 7.9% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 9.4% | 13% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 31% | 38% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7% | 7% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 48% | 35% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Meath and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
No party holds a majority on Meath County Council: Independent lead with 11 of 40 seats, short of the 21 needed. Dunshaughlin answers to one council, Meath County Council; Ireland has no town tier. It sits in the Ratoath local electoral area, which elects 7 councillors.
| Turnout | Dunshaughlin | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 60% | 60% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 47% | 47% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Dunshaughlin has 17 inventory buildings for every 10,000 residents, below Co. Meath’s towns (29) and Irish towns (48) alike. The ground here holds 39 recorded archaeological sites. 0.5% of homes were built before 1919.
| Heritage | Dunshaughlin | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 17 | 29 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 39 | 22 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 0.5% | 1.6% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
2 places to visit are mapped within 5 km of Dunshaughlin; with them, the best known within 40 km.
CastleDunsany Castle and Demesne4.8 km outside town, to the northwest
Big drawMuseumNational Museum of Ireland27 km southeast · 783K visitors a year
CathedralSt Patrick's Cathedral26 km southeast
Big drawZooDublin Zoo23 km southeast · 1.3M visitors a year (2022)
MuseumNational Library of Ireland27 km southeast
Historic houseLeinster House27 km southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Dunshaughlin’s built heritage counts 11 inventory entries, each of regional standing. 39 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
3 notable people were born in Dunshaughlin.
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
Dunshaughlin had 6,644 people at the 2022 census, up from 4,556 in 2016: 45.8% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Dunshaughlin is 34.7, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
15% mostly work from home, and 25% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Meath
6,644 people live in Dunshaughlin, 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).