Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Co. Roscommon has a population of 2,348. Its population rose 10% from 2016 to 2022.
Castlerea’s best grade is for cost of living — a median €146,000 buys a home here, 4 years of what the median household earns. Work and incomes lag (D): the unemployment rate is 12%, with 62% of 15 to 64s in work. Safety is weaker too (C): recorded crime comes to 9.1 violent offences and 4.2 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. Homes here sold for a median €144,400 over 2023 to 2025.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · work, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025. An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Irish towns; Castlerea has its subject grades alone.
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 Castlerea does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Castlerea 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 →
7 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
8% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Castlerea.
Owners make up 56% of households, lower than Irish towns (61%). Social housing holds 16% of households. Private tenants account for 26% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €145,900 | 330 |
| The last 12 months | €170,200 | 100 |
| Housing | Castlerea | Co. Roscommon | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €146K | – | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €949 | – | €1,606 |
| Households renting privately | 26% | – | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 56% | – | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Commutes averaged 24.8 min, below Irish towns (27.6 min). The jobless rate is 12%. Households take home €36,333 a year before tax, on average.
| Census 2022 | Castlerea | Co. Roscommon | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 52% | – | 31% |
| Median household income | €36,333 | – | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 62% | – | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 12% | – | 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.
For secondary school, the closest is Castlerea Community School, 0.3 km from the town. Within 3 km of Castlerea there are 5 schools (3 primary schools, 1 secondary school and 1 special school). Since 2019/20, pupils changed +23%, higher than Irish towns (+4%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tarmon N.S. DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 276 | Catholic |
| Castlerea Community School DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 389 | Inter-denominational |
| St Annes Con N.S. DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 141 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Castlerea | Co. Roscommon | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +23% | – | +4% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 80% | – | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | – | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | – | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Letters and results are missing here for a reason: Ireland publishes neither school by school.
About 5.4% of homes in Castlerea are estimated to pass the radon reference level. Landslides: none of Castlerea lies in a high-susceptibility zone.
| Share of homes | Castlerea | Co. Roscommon | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 21% | – | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | – | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
More of the graded crimes in Castlerea were assaults and harassment than anything else (2023–2025). Every kind together came to 41.4 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than Irish towns (54.3).
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 | Castlerea | Co. Roscommon | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 9.1 | – | 5.7 |
| Burglary & damage | 4.2 | – | 6.4 |
| Theft | 5.7 | – | 15.3 |
| All recorded crime | 41.4 | – | 54.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
3.4% of residents report bad or very bad health. At the census, 83% of people in Castlerea called their health good or very good, lower than Irish towns (88%). Disability touches 26% of the town’s population. Also worth knowing: in the HSE West and North West health region, 34% of people hold a medical card.
| Census 2022 | Castlerea | Co. Roscommon | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | – | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.4% | – | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 6.4% | – | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 26% | – | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
A year brings 1,198 mm of rain to Castlerea. Across the year it averages 9.7°C, lower than Irish towns (10.3°C). The coldest nights come in January, when Castlerea averages a low of 2.1°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Castlerea | Co. Roscommon | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 19.1°C | – | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.7°C | – | 10.3°C |
| January low | 2.1°C | – | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,198 mm | – | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
48% of homes have green space within 400 m. Protected sites cover 8.8% of the land within 5 km, higher than Irish towns (1.8%). 4 waymarked trails and greenways begin within 5 km.
| Outdoors | Castlerea | Co. Roscommon | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 48% | – | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 14% | – | 2.7% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 8.8% | – | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.4 km per km² | – | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
One measure of family life: 18% of residents are under 15. 9.6% of residents are 15 to 24, below Irish towns (12%). Foreign-born residents make up 25% of the population.
49.7% of Castlerea’s residents are women
1,167 women and 1,181 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Castlerea | Co. Roscommon | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | – | 20% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | – | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | – | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | – | 24% |
| 65+ | 22% | – | 14% |
| Primary or none | 15% | – | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 16% | – | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 42% | – | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.9% | – | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 22% | – | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Roscommon and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
There is no majority on Roscommon County Council; Independent have the most seats, 7 of 18, short of 10. General election turnout: 66%, above Irish towns (59%). One council serves Castlerea: Roscommon County Council.
| Turnout | Castlerea | Co. Roscommon | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 59% | – | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 66% | – | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 7.7% of the total. The Sites and Monuments Record lists 7 sites here, below Irish towns (11). 38 of Castlerea’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
| Heritage | Castlerea | Co. Roscommon | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 162 | – | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 7.7% | – | 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 Castlerea; with them, the best known within 40 km.
MuseumCastlerea Railway Museumin town
Abbey or priory · Office of Public WorksBoyle Abbey26 km northeast
CastleGlinsk Castle13 km south
CathedralCathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary37 km southwest
CastleRoscommon Castle24 km southeast
MuseumThe National Famine Museum | Strokestown Park26 km eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
38 of Castlerea’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 7 archaeological sites in and around the town.
7 notable people were born in Castlerea.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlerea | 2,348 | — | — | A+ | C | C+ |
| Ballaghaderreen | 2,387 | 16 | — | A+ | C+ | D |
| Ballyhaunis Mayo | 2,773 | 19 | B+ | A+ | B | C+ |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Castlerea had 2,348 people at the 2022 census, up from 2,135 in 2016: 10% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Castlerea is 43.1, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Roscommon
2,348 people live in Castlerea, in the area of Roscommon 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).