Photo: Darren J. Prior · CC BY-SA 4.0Castlerea is older than 94% of Irish towns: a median age of 43.1
A household here has 2.3 people on average; across Ireland’s towns, 2.7. Castlerea is home to 2,348 residents in 987 households, by the 2022 Census. One-person households: 38% of the total. Residents with no religion are rarer here than in 89% of Irish towns.
What stands out about the people of Castlerea
Older than most towns
Half of Castlerea’s residents are under 43.1 and half over; the typical median across Irish towns is 37.6. 22% are 65 or over, against 14% across Ireland’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
A +10% change since 2016: Castlerea grew faster than 64% 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 Co. Roscommon’s towns the median is +12%, and across Ireland’s towns +8%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 22% in Castlerea, more than in 93% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Across Ireland’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24; in Castlerea, 9.6%. More residents are 35–39 than any other five-year age: 7.6% of residents. On average, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Roscommon 50.1%, Ireland 51.2%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 4.5%, a lower share than 91% of Irish towns
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
14% of workers are in process, plant and machine operatives, against a typical 7.8%. The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 7.5% across Ireland’s towns. Students among residents 15 and over account for 8%.
Only 31% of households are parents with children in Castlerea
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Roscommon’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
9.4% of households are unrelated adults living together, against 4.7% across Ireland’s towns. Households of parents with children: 43% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison.
Castlerea: 25% of households have no car or van, above 77% of Irish towns
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
Connected households: 81% on broadband; 17% offline (typical: 7.6%). One household in every 4 has no car or van. Castlerea has more holiday homes than nearly three quarters of Irish towns, at 0.6%.
Households here have a median income of €36,330 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Before tax, the middle household here has €36,330 a year, 40% less than the Ireland median (€60,120). In Co. Roscommon overall, the median comes to €51,010.
Residents with another country’s citizenship: 19%, a higher share than 72% 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 35%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
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.
15% speak another language at home, most often Polish (3.2%); 2.3% speak English not well or not at all. Higher than in 62% of Irish towns: 25% of residents were born outside Ireland.
0.6% of residents speak Irish daily outside education, below 90% of Irish towns
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
Within Co. Roscommon, Roscommon has the largest share, 1.1%. Irish speakers number 628, or 34% of residents aged 3 and over.
More residents who said they are Catholic than 88% of Irish towns: 80%
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: 78% of Castlerea · Co. Roscommon’s towns 72% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
After White Irish, the most common groups are Other White (13%), Asian or Asian Irish (3.6%) and Other, including mixed (3.3%). Lower than in half of Irish towns: 78% of residents describe themselves as White Irish. To put it in context, 71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns.
In Castlerea, 6.4% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 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%; Castlerea has 33%. For comparison, 5.4% of residents give unpaid care across Ireland’s towns.
A lower share of adults with a degree or higher than 84% of Irish towns, at 22%
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
5.6% of Castlerea’s adults hold a postgraduate qualification, and 15% finished their education at primary level or earlier (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). Against that, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
No nearby town is as old as Castlerea
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlerea | 2,348 | — | 43.1 | 22% | 31% |
| Ballaghaderreen | 2,387 | 16.3 km | 35.6 | 16% | 39% |
| Ballyhaunis | 2,773 | 18.7 km | 34.5 | 12% | 45% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Roscommon’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Co. Roscommon has fewer than five towns of 2,500 or more, so its figure is the median of its towns of 1,000 or more; the national figure is the median of 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 Castlerea’s residents
What is the population of Castlerea?
Castlerea had 2,348 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 10% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Castlerea?
The median age is 43.1. 21% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Castlerea?
34% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (628 people), and 0.6% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Castlerea?
78% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 25% were born abroad and 19% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Castlerea?
80% are Catholic, 11% have no religion and 9.5% another religion; 18% didn’t say.
Is Castlerea good for families?
31% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 21% of residents are under 18. Schools near Castlerea are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Castlerea?
Median gross household income in Castlerea was €36,330 in 2022, against €51,010 across Co. Roscommon 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).