Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 421 residents, it is a town in Co. Sligo.
A typical home sold for €134,000, or 3.3 years of the town’s median household income. The median home sold for €178,800 from 2023 to 2025. Of those who commute, 13% go on foot, by bike or by public transport. The 2022 census put unemployment at 5%.
With fewer than 1,000 residents, Gurteen falls below the line for grades among Irish towns.
The 3 things Gurteen does most differently from other towns.
The record adds 1 archaeological site.
Homes built before 1919: 4%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Gurteen.
Families in Gurteen have one school within 3 km. Pupils at the school within 3 km of Gurteen number 116.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carn N.S.Largest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 116 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Gurteen | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −22% | – | +4% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | – | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | – | 8% |
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.
The ground under Gurteen carries no high landslide susceptibility. Its homes mostly stand clear of low ground by water.
| Share of homes | Gurteen | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | – | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | – | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The year’s mean temperature is 9.6°C, below Irish towns (10.3°C). Gurteen gets 1,252 mm of rain a year. On a January night, the temperature in Gurteen falls to about 2.0°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Gurteen | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.9°C | – | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.6°C | – | 10.3°C |
| Rain a year | 1,252 mm | – | 937 mm |
| January low | 2.0°C | – | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
A fifth of residents have a disability, lower than Irish towns (22%). Weighed against its ages, disability in Gurteen runs at 93 per 100 expected. Also worth knowing: at the census, 2.9% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2022 | Gurteen | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 3.1% | – | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.9% | – | 2% |
| With a disability | 20% | – | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 89% | – | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Owners make up 55% of households. Private renters make up a quarter of households, higher than Irish towns (22%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €134,000 | 38 |
| Housing | Gurteen | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €134K | – | €350K |
| Households in social housing | 18% | – | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 55% | – | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 25% | – | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Within 1 km, 5.7% of the land is woodland, higher than Irish towns (2.7%). Gurteen has 3.6 ha of green space for every 1,000 residents, lower than Irish towns (4.1 ha).
| Outdoors | Gurteen | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 63% | – | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 5.7% | – | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.0 km per km² | – | 2.1 km per km² |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 2.7% | – | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
It should be dry and calm today, with wind of 18 km/h at most and a low around 4°C. Monday stands out as the wet day ahead, with roughly 11 mm. In a typical November, days climb to about 10°C and nights sink to 4°C, the yardstick for Gurteen’s forecast.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 377 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 258 mm |
| Summer | 18°C | 11°C | 274 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | 7°C | 344 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
The unemployment rate here is 5.4%. Just over a third of trips took under 15 minutes, above Irish towns (31%). A household here earns €40,960 a year before tax, on average.
| Census 2022 | Gurteen | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 77% | – | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.4% | – | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €40,960 | – | €57,760 |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 34% | – | 31% |
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.
Foreign-born residents make up 17% of the population. The 15-to-24 age group: 9%, lower than Irish towns (12%). Among adults, 25% have a degree.
Women make up 52.0% of Gurteen
219 women and 202 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Gurteen | Co. Sligo | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | – | 20% |
| 15–24 | 9% | – | 12% |
| 25–44 | 33% | – | 29% |
| 45–64 | 18% | – | 24% |
| 65+ | 19% | – | 14% |
| Primary or none | 7.6% | – | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 17% | – | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 45% | – | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5% | – | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 25% | – | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Sligo and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
There is just one council for Gurteen, Sligo County Council: Ireland has only one tier of local government. At the general election, just over three in five voters took part. This Co. Sligo town sits in the Ballymote-Tobercurry local electoral area, which elects 7 councillors.
| Turnout | Gurteen | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 63% | – | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 61% | – | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The Sites and Monuments Record lists 1 sites here, lower than Irish towns (11). Homes from before 1919 make up 4% of the total, above Irish towns (3.4%). Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 3 buildings in Gurteen, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded one site here.
| Heritage | Gurteen | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 71 | – | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 1 | – | 11 |
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 Gurteen; with them, the best known within 40 km.
Abbey or priory · Office of Public WorksBoyle Abbey15 km east
CastleBallymote Castle10 km north
CastleBallinafad Castle12 km east
CathedralCathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo31 km north
Castle · Office of Public WorksParke's Castle32 km northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 3 buildings in Gurteen, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded one site here.
One notable person was born in Gurteen; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Maureen O'Sullivan: Russell Ball, Public domain · Chris O'Dowd: Christopher William Adach from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Margaret Cousins: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gurteen | 421 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ballymote | 1,711 | 10 | — | A+ | A− | B |
| Ballaghaderreen Roscommon | 2,387 | 11 | — | A+ | C+ | D |
| Boyle Roscommon | 2,915 | 15 | B+ | A+ | B | B− |
| Tubbercurry | 2,307 | 15 | — | A− | B+ | C |
| Charlestown-Bellahy Mayo | 1,172 | 19 | — | A | B+ | B |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
8% mostly work from home, and 34% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Gurteen had 421 people at the 2022 census, up from 402 in 2016: 4.7% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Gurteen is 38.5, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Sligo
Gurteen has 421 people, in the area of Sligo 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).