Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 907 residents, it is a town in Co. Meath. The population grew 21% between 2016 and 2022.
A typical home sold for €355,000, or 4.8 years of the town’s median household income. 8% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. 10 of its buildings are on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Over-65s are only 9% of the population.
Irish towns are graded from 1,000 residents, which leaves Kilmessan out for now.
The 3 things Kilmessan does most differently from other towns.
The record adds 4 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 3%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Kilmessan.
Families in Kilmessan have 2 schools within 3 km to choose from: 2 primary schools. Pupil numbers changed +6% since 2019/20, above both Co. Meath’s towns (+4%) and Irish towns (+4%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kilmessan Mxd N.S.Largest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 242 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Kilmessan | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 8% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 0% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +6% | +4% | +4% |
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.
Radon tests would find about 1.4% of Kilmessan’s homes above the reference level, by estimate. No part of Kilmessan is mapped as high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Kilmessan | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 0% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
In January, overnight lows in Kilmessan settle at 2.0°C. Across the year it averages 9.8°C, about level with Co. Meath’s towns (9.9°C) and below Irish towns (10.3°C). November is the wettest month here, with 88 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Kilmessan | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.0°C | 2.1°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.8°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 20.0°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 860 mm | 855 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
4.2% of residents give unpaid care to a relative or friend, below both Co. Meath’s towns (4.8%) and Irish towns (5.4%). Weighed against its ages, bad health in Kilmessan runs at 87 per 100 expected. Self-reported good health: 93% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Kilmessan | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 93% | 91% | 88% |
| With a disability | 17% | 19% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 4.2% | 4.8% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.2% | 1.6% | 2% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
71% of households are owner-occupiers. Private renters make up 19% of households, between Co. Meath’s towns (15%) and Irish towns (22%). Council and housing-body homes hold nearly one in ten households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €359,000 | 32 |
| Second-hand homes | €293,000 | 41 |
| Housing | Kilmessan | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 71% | 74% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 9% | 9% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 19% | 15% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Walkers have 0.1 km per km² of paths and tracks, below both Co. Meath’s towns (1.3 km per km²) and Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). A park or green space is within 400 m for 100% of homes. There are 0.8 ha of green space for every 1,000 people in Kilmessan.
| Outdoors | Kilmessan | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 4.5% | 1% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.1 km per km² | 1.3 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Near a park | 100% | 95% | 92% |
| Green space per 1,000 residents | 0.8 ha | 2.3 ha | 4.1 ha |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
The heaviest rain of the week is due on Tuesday, around 6 mm. Kilmessan’s forecast, set beside its normal weather: in November a typical day reaches 10°C, and nights drop to 4°C. Any rain today should be slight, though the wind picks up to 26 km/h; the low is 9°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 223 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 178 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 215 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 245 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
A household here earns €73,210 a year before tax, on average. The car took 82% of commuters, higher than both Co. Meath’s towns (74%) and Irish towns (66%). The average trip to work takes 35.4 min.
| Census 2022 | Kilmessan | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 35.4 min | 32.9 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 75% | 70% | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 6% | 7.3% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €73,210 | €73,360 | €57,760 |
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.
Retirement age and beyond: nearly one in ten residents are 65 or older. Young adults of 15 to 24 are just over one in ten residents, lower than both Co. Meath’s towns (13%) and Irish towns (12%). Born abroad: 17% of residents.
Women make up 52.9% of Kilmessan
480 women and 427 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Kilmessan | Co. Meath | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 27% | 24% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 32% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 8.6% | 9.2% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 4.5% | 7.7% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 35% | 37% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.3% | 7% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 40% | 36% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Meath and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
There is no majority on Meath County Council; Independent have the most seats, 11 of 40, short of 21. Local government for Kilmessan is Meath County Council alone; Ireland has a single tier. The town sits in the Ratoath local electoral area, which elects 7 councillors.
| Turnout | Kilmessan | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 60% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 47% | 47% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The Sites and Monuments Record lists 4 sites here, below both Co. Meath’s towns (24) and Irish towns (11). Homes built before 1919 account for 3.4% of the housing.
| Heritage | Kilmessan | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 110 | 29 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 4 | 24 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Kilmessan. Best known first.
Abbey or prioryBective Abbey3 km outside town, to the northwest
CastleDunsany Castle and Demesne3.3 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumHill of Tara3.6 km outside town, to the northeastArt galleryArt galleryTara Open Studio3.9 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The national inventory of architectural heritage lists 10 buildings in Kilmessan, each rated of regional importance. 4 archaeological sites are on the record here.
No notable person born in Kilmessan is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Francis Beaufort: Stephen Pearce, Public domain · Dylan Moran: Fernando de Sousa of Melbourne, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Paul Tighe: ITU/I.Wood, CC BY 2.0 · Tim Clancy: Alasdair Middleton from Rothesay, Scotland, CC BY 2.0 · Gary Rogers: Seaninryan, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
Kilmessan had 907 people at the 2022 census, up from 753 in 2016: 20.5% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Kilmessan is 34.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Meath
Kilmessan has 907 people, 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). 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).