Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,329 in Co. Monaghan.
Housing is within reach: the median home sold for €141,800, 3.4 times the town’s median household income. Where it falls short is jobs & income (C): unemployment is 11%, and 67% of 15 to 64s have a job. The rest of its grades are middling: B for safety, B− for health and B− for walkability. Natural hazards are less of a worry than in most Irish towns: almost no homes are above the radon reference level.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · work, health and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · radon, EPA. Irish towns get an overall grade from 2,500 residents, so Ballybay has subject grades only.
Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level.
The 3 things Ballybay does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Ballybay with Irish towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Irish towns get an overall grade from 2,500 residents, so Ballybay has subject grades only.
How TownRatings grades Irish towns →
9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ballybay.
Owners make up 49% of households. 31% rent privately, above Co. Monaghan’s towns (28%) and Irish towns (22%) alike. Council and housing-body homes hold 17% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €141,800 | 60 |
| Housing | Ballybay | Co. Monaghan | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €142K | €230K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €982 | €1,064 | €1,606 |
| Households renting privately | 31% | 28% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 49% | 51% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Landslides: none of Ballybay lies in a high-susceptibility zone. Radon is rarely a worry in the town: under 1% of homes are estimated above the reference level. Its homes mostly stand clear of low ground by water.
| Share of homes | Ballybay | Co. Monaghan | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 1.2% | 0.5% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | under 0.1% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The jobless rate is 11%. 83% of commuters drove, higher than both Co. Monaghan’s towns (77%) and Irish towns (66%). Working from home was the norm for 3.9% of workers at the census.
| Census 2022 | Ballybay | Co. Monaghan | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €41,620 | €44,888 | €57,760 |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 43% | 47% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 11% | 12% | 9.2% |
| Average trip | 25.3 min | 24.6 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.
Pupil numbers changed +2% since 2019/20, below both Co. Monaghan’s towns (+8%) and Irish towns (+4%). 4 schools lie within 3 km of Ballybay: 3 primary schools and 1 secondary school. The nearest secondary, Ballybay Community College, is 0.4 km away.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Éanna DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 228 | Catholic |
| Ballybay Community CollegeLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 344 | Multi-denominational |
| Ballybay Central N.S. DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 66 | Presbyterian |
| Schools within 3 km | Ballybay | Co. Monaghan | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 17% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 40% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 50% | 36% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +2% | +8% | +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.
Across the year, Ballybay averages 9.4°C. Here July highs average 19.4°C, close to Co. Monaghan’s towns (19.4°C) and below Irish towns (19.9°C). This Co. Monaghan town is 0.2°C warmer over the year than in 1981–2010.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ballybay | Co. Monaghan | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 1.6°C | 1.8°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.4°C | 9.5°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 19.4°C | 19.4°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,005 mm | 992 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Woodland covers 3.3% of the land within 1 km, lower than Co. Monaghan’s towns (5.5%) yet higher than Irish towns (2.7%). Green space in Ballybay adds up to 4 ha, in one park.
| Outdoors | Ballybay | Co. Monaghan | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 100% | 67% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.3 km per km² | 1.0 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Woodland within 1 km | 3.3% | 5.5% | 2.7% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0% | 0% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
The coming days top out somewhere between 6°C and 10°C; Thursday looks warmest. Ballybay’s November pattern is steady: afternoons average 10°C, nights 4°C. A dry day with a stiff breeze lies ahead today: wind building to 20 km/h, then a low of 6°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 278 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 4°C | 210 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 10°C | 241 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | 6°C | 275 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
28% of residents have a birthplace overseas. Daily Irish speakers outside school: 0.4%, lower than both Co. Monaghan’s towns (1.3%) and Irish towns (1.1%). People 65 and over make up 13% of the town.
50.0% of Ballybay’s residents are women
665 women and 664 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ballybay | Co. Monaghan | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 22% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 31% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 13% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 14% | 14% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 23% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 37% | 38% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.5% | 5.8% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 20% | 25% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Monaghan and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
There is just one council for Ballybay, Monaghan County Council: Ireland has only one tier of local government. 56% voted at the last local elections. At the general election 64% voted, near Co. Monaghan’s towns (64%) and higher than Irish towns (59%). Monaghan County Council has no ruling majority: Sinn Féin hold 8 of its 18 seats, short of the 10 needed.
| Turnout | Ballybay | Co. Monaghan | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 56% | 55% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 64% | 64% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
9% of its homes were built before 1919, above Co. Monaghan’s towns (5.2%) and Irish towns (3.4%) alike. 33 of Ballybay’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
| Heritage | Ballybay | Co. Monaghan | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 248 | 191 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 9% | 5.2% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 0 | 17 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Homes saw 4.7 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, below both Co. Monaghan’s towns (6) and Irish towns (6.4). All told, 27 crimes per 1,000 residents are recorded each year. The graded crime recorded most in Ballybay was assaults and harassment (2023–2025).
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 | Ballybay | Co. Monaghan | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 27 | 40.8 | 54.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 4.7 | 6 | 6.4 |
| Theft | 2.9 | 4 | 15.3 |
| Violent crime | 4.1 | 5.5 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Ages taken into account, Ballybay counts 103 people with a disability for every 100 predicted. 87% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, near Co. Monaghan’s towns (87%) and lower than Irish towns (88%). Disability touches 21% of the town’s population.
| Census 2022 | Ballybay | Co. Monaghan | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 5.3% | 4.7% | 5.4% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 87% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.3% | 2.4% | 2% |
| With a disability | 21% | 21% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Nothing to visit is mapped within 5 km of Ballybay; these are the best known within 40 km.
CathedralSt Macartan's Cathedral, Monaghan14 km north
CastleCastle Leslie22 km north
CathedralThe Cathedral of Saint Patrick and Saint Felim33 km southwest
CastleCabra Castle25 km south
CastleCastle Roche29 km east
CastleCloughoughter Castle39 km westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
33 of Ballybay’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
6 notable people were born in Ballybay.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballybay | 1,329 | — | — | A+ | B | B− |
| Castleblayney | 3,926 | 10 | C+ | A− | C+ | C+ |
| Cootehill Cavan | 1,856 | 13 | — | A+ | B− | D |
| Monaghan | 7,894 | 14 | A− | A | C+ | B+ |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
4% mostly work from home, and 43% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Ballybay had 1,329 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,259 in 2016: 5.6% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Ballybay is 37.2, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 22% of residents are under 15 and 13% are 65 or over.
Urban area in Co. Monaghan
Ballybay has 1,329 people, in the area of Monaghan 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).