Photo: C O'Flanagan · CC BY-SA 2.02.2% of households have no car or van, below 99% of Irish towns
With a median age of 34.6, Kilmessan is younger than 83% of Irish towns. At the 2022 Census Kilmessan was home to 907 people in 300 households. Locally, 52% of households are parents with children. Against a figure of 24% across Ireland’s towns, the share of one-person households in Kilmessan comes in at 18%.
A +21% change since 2016: faster than 91% 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.
Across Ireland’s towns, the typical town changed +8%; across Co. Meath’s towns, +11%.
In Kilmessan, 8.6% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 86% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across Ireland’s towns, against 11% in Kilmessan. As a yardstick, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Meath 50.7%, Ireland 51.2%.
Above 75% of Irish towns: 10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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: 11%, above three fifths of Irish towns. The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 7.5% across Ireland’s towns.
Larger households than 80% of Irish towns: 2.9 people on average
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Meath’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults account for 5%.
Only 5.3% of households live in a flat or apartment in Kilmessan
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
4.8% of households have no internet access (typical: 7.6%); 95% have broadband. Census figures put holiday homes at 0.6% in Kilmessan. As a reference point, just over one in ten households live in a flat or apartment across Ireland’s towns.
€73,210 a year is the median household income here
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
At €73,210 a year before tax, the median household income is 22% above that of Ireland (€60,120). For Co. Meath, the figure is €70,660.
17% of residents were born outside Ireland, fewer than in 75% of Irish towns
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 30%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
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 most common home language after English is Polish (2.3%); in all 15% speak another language, and 1.4% speak English not well or not at all. As a reference point, just over a fifth of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns. Fewer residents with another country’s citizenship than in 64% of Irish towns: 12%.
Of Kilmessan’s residents, 39% can speak Irish
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 307 residents (39% of those aged 3 and over). Daily speakers of Irish outside education: 1.1%, near enough the figure across Ireland’s towns.
Residents who said they are Catholic make up 75% in Kilmessan, more than in 71% 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: 82% of Kilmessan · Co. Meath’s towns 80% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Across Ireland’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 17%; Kilmessan has 15%. 82% of residents describe themselves as White Irish.
4.2% of residents give unpaid care, below 87% 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.
Across Ireland’s towns, the share of married residents 15 and over is 34%; Kilmessan has 36%. The usual figure: 5.4% of residents give unpaid care across Ireland’s towns.
Kilmessan ranks above 58% of Irish towns on adults with a degree or higher: 40%
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
At the top, 13% of adults have a postgraduate qualification; at the other end, 4.5% finished at primary level or earlier, against 9.7% across Ireland’s towns. On average, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Nearby, 4 of 6 towns have older populations than Kilmessan
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Meath’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Meath’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 Kilmessan’s residents
What is the population of Kilmessan?
Kilmessan had 907 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 21% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Kilmessan?
The median age is 34.6. 31% are under 18 and 8.6% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Kilmessan?
39% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (307 people), and 1.1% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Kilmessan?
82% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 17% were born abroad and 12% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Kilmessan?
75% are Catholic, 15% have no religion and 11% another religion; 7.7% didn’t say.
Is Kilmessan good for families?
52% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 31% of residents are under 18. Schools near Kilmessan are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Kilmessan?
Median gross household income in Kilmessan was €73,210 in 2022, against €70,660 across Co. Meath 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).