Photo: Sarah777 at English Wikipedia · Public domainA larger share of holiday homes than 95% of Irish towns: 4.3%
Compared with 24% across Ireland’s towns, 18% of households are one person living alone here. At the 2022 Census Ballina was home to 2,959 people in 1,015 households. Across Ballina, 86% of residents describe themselves as White Irish. With a median age of 39.6, Ballina is older than 75% of Irish towns.
What stands out about the people of Ballina
A student town
14% of residents aged 15 and over are students, more than in 90% of Irish towns; Ireland’s towns 10%. 13% of residents are 15 to 24. Social class & newcomers ↓
A town of families
44% of households are couples with children and 9.9% lone parents with children, more than in 88% of Irish towns and the highest share in Co. Tipperary; 23% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Ballina’s population changed by +9% since 2016, more than in 59% 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.
Medians for comparison: +8% across Ireland’s towns; +5% across Co. Tipperary’s towns.
Only 11% of residents are 65 or over in Ballina
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
10–14 is the most common age band: one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across Ireland’s towns. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 13%.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Ballina, 39.6. The typical town is 37.6.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Tipperary 51.3%, Ireland 51.2%.
A student town: 14% of residents 15 and over are students
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
In Ballina, the professional, managerial and technical classes take in 55% of residents and the semi-skilled and unskilled classes 9.6%, against 34% and 15% across Ireland’s towns. Across Ballina, 6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
A larger share of households of parents with children than 88% of Irish towns: 54%
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Tipperary’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 4.1%, close to the figure across Ireland’s towns. Measured more widely, 43% of households are parents with children across Ireland’s towns. On average, 2.9 people share a household.
5.2% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 95% 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
Across Ireland’s towns, the share of households in flats is 12%; Ballina has 4.6%. On average, 17% of households have no car or van across Ireland’s towns.
Half above, half below €72,610 a year in household income
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Households here have a median gross income of €72,610, 21% higher than across Ireland (€60,120). For Co. Tipperary, the figure is €52,760.
Only 10% of residents are citizens of another country in Ballina
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 30%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
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.
Another language is spoken at home by 11%, most often Polish (4.1%); 0.9% speak English not well or not at all. Across Ireland’s towns, residents with another country’s citizenship come to 15%. Fewer residents born outside Ireland than in 66% of Irish towns: 19%.
Able to speak Irish: 50% in Ballina
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. Tipperary, Thurles has the largest share, 1.4%. Lower than in nearly two thirds of Irish towns: 0.9% of residents speak Irish daily outside education.
73% of residents said they are Catholic, more than in 65% of Irish towns
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: 86% of Ballina · Co. Tipperary’s towns 77% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
In Ballina, 19% of residents said they have no religion, beside 17% across Ireland’s towns. The usual figure: 71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns. Leading the other groups after White Irish: Other White (10%), Asian or Asian Irish (1.7%) and Other, including mixed (1.2%).
Ballina ranks above 92% of Irish towns on married residents 15 and over: 41%
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, 5.4% of residents give unpaid care; in Ballina, 6.6%. As a reference point, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Adults with a degree or higher: 53%, a higher share than 83% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Still in education: 18% of residents 15 and over. Adults with a degree or higher: 36% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison. Primary level or earlier: 4.7%, against 9.7% across Ireland’s towns.
Of 41 towns its size (2,596 to 3,398 people), the 11th oldest
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Ages run from 30.4 in Kilbarry to 45.5 in Ballybrack. Nearest to Ballina in age: Carna (39.5), Blarney (39.6), Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) (39.8) and Crosshaven (39.9).
Nearby, 2 of 6 towns have older populations than Ballina
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballina | 2,959 | — | 39.6 | 11% | 54% |
| Killaloe | 1,666 | 1.0 km | 41 | 19% | 37% |
| Newport | 2,183 | 11.7 km | 36 | 9.7% | 55% |
| Castleconnell | 2,488 | 12.1 km | 38.5 | 14% | 50% |
| Ardnacrusha | 1,229 | 16.4 km | 44 | 14% | 61% |
| Nenagh | 9,895 | 16.6 km | 38.4 | 14% | 41% |
| Annacotty | 3,398 | 17.7 km | 35 | 8.7% | 43% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Tipperary’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Tipperary’s towns of 2,500 or more and over 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 Ballina’s residents
What is the population of Ballina?
Ballina had 2,959 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 9% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Ballina?
The median age is 39.6, older than 75% of Irish towns. 28% are under 18 and 11% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Ballina?
50% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (1,338 people), and 0.9% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Ballina?
86% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 19% were born abroad and 10% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Ballina?
73% are Catholic, 19% have no religion and 7.5% another religion; 6.7% didn’t say.
Is Ballina good for families?
54% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 28% of residents are under 18. Schools near Ballina are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Ballina?
Median gross household income in Ballina was €72,610 in 2022, against €52,760 across Co. Tipperary 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).