Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2,959 people, this town lies in Co. Tipperary. It grew by 9% between the 2016 and 2022 censuses.
Households here earn well (A): 71% of working-age residents are employed, with an unemployment rate of 5%. Health outcomes beat most towns: for every 100 its ages would predict, 99 residents are in bad health and 95 have a disability. Its weakest subject is cost of living (C−) — home prices sit at a median €340,000, which is 4.7 years of the town’s median household income. It lags on walkability as well (C−). 9% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the typical Irish town: 23%). Natural hazards weigh more here (D−): an estimated nearly a tenth of its homes exceed the radon reference level. The overall grade comes out at B−, #148 of 320 Irish towns. That leaves it better than 54% of Irish towns.
Figures: work, health and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · radon, EPA.
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 Ballina does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Ballina 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 →
The record adds 8 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 2%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ballina.
The closest place to swim from Ballina is Ballycuggeran, 3.5 km away, rated excellent in 2025. Low-lying near a river: 5.9% of homes, close to Co. Tipperary’s towns (5.6%) and above Irish towns (0.5%).
| Share of homes | Ballina | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 4.9% | 0% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 5.9% | 5.6% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
29% of trips took under 15 minutes, lower than both Co. Tipperary’s towns (50%) and Irish towns (31%). Walking, cycling and public transport carried nearly one in ten commuters at the census. Unemployment runs at 5.4%.
| Census 2022 | Ballina | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €72,610 | €45,412 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.4% | 10% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 29% | 50% | 31% |
| Average trip | 28.8 min | 23.2 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.
Ballina is the most expensive of the 9 towns in Co. Tipperary: its median sale is €340,000. 7% of households rent from a council or housing body. Private renters make up 17% of households, below both Co. Tipperary’s towns (23%) and Irish towns (22%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €345,000 | 90 |
| Housing | Ballina | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 75% | 55% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 7% | 19% | 13% |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,465 | €1,055 | €1,606 |
| Households renting privately | 17% | 23% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Unpaid carers make up 6.6% of residents, above Co. Tipperary’s towns (5.7%) and Irish towns (5.4%) alike. Of the 9 towns in Co. Tipperary, Ballina has the smallest share in bad or very bad health: 1.7%. Disability touches 19% of the town’s population.
| Census 2022 | Ballina | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a disability | 19% | 26% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 91% | 86% | 88% |
| Unpaid carers | 6.6% | 5.7% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.7% | 2.7% | 2% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Pupil numbers changed +9% since 2019/20, higher than both Co. Tipperary’s towns (+6%) and Irish towns (+4%). The nearest secondary, St Anne's Community College, is 1.1 km away. Families in Ballina have 4 schools within 3 km to choose from: 3 primary schools and 1 secondary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Baile an Atha Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 404 | Catholic |
| St Anne's Community CollegeLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 731 | Inter-denominational |
| Killaloe Boys N.S. DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 104 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Ballina | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 67% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 8% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 50% | 42% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +9% | +6% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No school here carries a letter or a result: Ireland publishes neither for individual schools.
The year’s mean temperature is 10.1°C, close to Co. Tipperary’s towns (10.1°C) and below Irish towns (10.3°C). Midwinter nights in Ballina bottom out at 2.4°C on average. December is the wettest month in the town, with 154 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ballina | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rain a year | 1,327 mm | 1,028 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 2.4°C | 2.3°C | 2.9°C |
| July high | 19.8°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.1°C | 10.1°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
In all, 29 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded a year, below both Co. Tipperary’s towns (62.2) and Irish towns (54.3); what’s more, each year, 4.8 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded per 1,000 residents. Among the 201 Irish towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Ballina has less crime per resident than 71% of them. Per 1,000 residents, 4 violent crimes are recorded each year.
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 | Ballina | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 29 | 62.2 | 54.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 4.8 | 6.8 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 4 | 6.3 | 5.7 |
| Theft | 6.6 | 11.5 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Across its 2 parks, Ballina has 12 ha of green space. Protected nature near Ballina includes Lough Derg (Shannon) SPA.
| Outdoors | Ballina | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 76% | 85% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 4.7% | 2.4% | 1.8% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 1.8% | 3.1% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.9 km per km² | 0.5 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Plan indoor things for Tuesday, when about 3 mm of rain is forecast. Set beside Ballina’s forecast, a normal November runs from 4°C at night to 11°C by day. A quiet day is due today: no rain, a light wind peaking at 19 km/h, and 4°C overnight.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 408 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 262 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 287 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 370 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
23% are under 15, above Co. Tipperary’s towns (19%) and Irish towns (20%) alike. Over-65s are 11% of the population. The 15-to-24 age group makes up 13% of residents.
Women make up 52.0% of Ballina
1,540 women and 1,419 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ballina | Co. Tipperary | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 23% | 19% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 11% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 4.7% | 13% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 8.3% | 18% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 27% | 40% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7.6% | 5.8% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 53% | 23% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Tipperary and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Tipperary County Council is the one council for Ballina; Ireland has no town or county councils between it and the government. 57% of voters turned out at the last local elections, above Co. Tipperary’s towns (55%) and Irish towns (46%) alike. With 14 of 40 seats, Independent are the largest group on Tipperary County Council, short of the 21 a majority needs.
| Turnout | Ballina | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 66% | 61% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 57% | 55% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Scaled to its population, that is 17 inventory buildings for every 10,000 people in Ballina. 1.6% of its homes were built before 1919, below Co. Tipperary’s towns (7.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%) alike. Archaeologists have recorded 8 sites here.
| Heritage | Ballina | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 17 | 128 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 1.6% | 7.7% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 8 | 35 | 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 Ballina; with them, the best known within 40 km.
CathedralKillaloe Cathedral and Churches200 m outside town, to the southwest
CastleBunratty Castle29 km southwest
CathedralSt John's Cathedral21 km southwest
CathedralSaint Mary's Cathedral20 km southwest
MuseumThe Hunt Museum21 km southwest
Abbey or prioryGlenstal Abbey17 km southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The national inventory of architectural heritage lists 5 buildings in Ballina, each rated of regional importance. 8 archaeological sites are on the record here.
3 notable people were born in Ballina.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballina | 2,959 | — | B− | C− | B | A− |
| Killaloe Clare | 1,666 | 1 | — | B | B | D |
| Newport | 2,183 | 12 | — | B+ | A+ | C |
| Castleconnell Limerick | 2,488 | 12 | — | C | C− | B− |
| Ardnacrusha Clare | 1,229 | 16 | — | B | A | A+ |
| Nenagh | 9,895 | 17 | B | A− | C+ | C− |
| Annacotty Limerick | 3,398 | 18 | C+ | D | D | A− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Ballina had 2,959 people at the 2022 census, up from 2,708 in 2016: 9.3% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Ballina is 39.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 23% of residents are under 15 and 11% are 65 or over.
Urban area in Co. Tipperary
Ballina has 2,959 people, in the area of Tipperary 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).