Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 5,542 people, this town lies in Co. Tipperary.
What it saves you on housing, it gives back elsewhere. Buying a home costs less than in most towns (A+): set against the median household income, the median home, at €196,700, costs 4.5 times as much. Health is a weak point (D): 148 residents in bad health and 124 with a disability for every 100 its ages predict. Jobs and pay trail most towns: jobs reach 63% of 15 to 64s, and unemployment is 13%. The overall grade lands at B, #4 of 9 in Co. Tipperary. On that grade it does better than 58% of Irish towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for safety and B− for walkability.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · health, work and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025.
The 3 things Roscrea does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Roscrea 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 →
21 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Roscrea.
Only one of the 9 towns in Co. Tipperary costs less to buy into than Roscrea, whose median sale is €196,700. Prices in the town are up 88% since 2010: the typical sale went from €125K that year to €235K in 2025. Just over a fifth of households rent from a council or housing body.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €304,700 | 38 |
| Second-hand homes | €174,200 | 222 |
| The last 12 months | €227,500 | 76 |
| Housing | Roscrea | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €825 | €1,079 | €1,606 |
| Median sale price | €197K | €230K | €350K |
| Households in social housing | 21% | 17% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 55% | 57% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
0.3% of homes stand on ground with high landslide susceptibility, in line with Co. Tipperary’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%). Radon is rarely a worry in Roscrea: under 1% of homes are estimated above the reference level. Its homes mostly stand clear of low ground by water.
| Share of homes | Roscrea | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0.3% | 0% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 6.4% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
At the census, 85% of people in Roscrea called their health good or very good, close to Co. Tipperary’s towns (86%) and below Irish towns (88%). A disability affects 27% of people in the town. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 2.7% of the town.
| Census 2022 | Roscrea | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a disability | 27% | 25% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 85% | 86% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.7% | 2.6% | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.1% | 5.8% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
3.2% of workers worked mainly from home at the census. Unemployment stood at 13%, above both Co. Tipperary’s towns (9.6%) and Irish towns (9.2%). The average trip to work takes 23 min.
| Census 2022 | Roscrea | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 54% | 49% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 13% | 9.6% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 63% | 68% | 68% |
| Average trip | 23 min | 23.6 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.
Families in Roscrea have 8 schools within 3 km to choose from: 5 primary schools, 2 secondary schools and 1 special school. The nearest secondary, Colaiste Phobáil Ros Cré, is 0.5 km away. Since 2019/20, pupils changed +4%, lower than Co. Tipperary’s towns (+7%) and near Irish towns (+4%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Iosef Naofa DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 299 | Catholic |
| Colaiste Phobáil Ros Cré DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 594 | Inter-denominational |
| Sacred Heart Primary School DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 201 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Roscrea | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 8% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 50% | 42% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 50% | 67% | 39% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
997 mm of rain falls in a year, below Co. Tipperary’s towns (1,056 mm) but above Irish towns (937 mm). Averaged across the seasons, Roscrea sits at 9.8°C. November is the wettest month locally, with 103 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Roscrea | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.0°C | 2.4°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.8°C | 10.1°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 19.8°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 997 mm | 1,056 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Its paths and tracks come to 0.3 km per km², about level with Co. Tipperary’s towns (0.5 km per km²) and below Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). There are 2 parks in Roscrea; together its green space comes to 18 ha. Within 400 m of green space: 87% of homes.
| Outdoors | Roscrea | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 7.9% | 2.4% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.3 km per km² | 0.5 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Near a park | 87% | 81% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 3.4% | 2.3% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
The forecast for Roscrea beside its normal weather: a typical November day reaches 10°C and drops to 4°C at night. A dry day with a stiff breeze lies ahead today: wind building to 21 km/h, then a low of 5°C. Of the days after that, Tuesday brings the most rain: about 3 mm.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 276 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 206 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 234 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 6°C | 280 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
0.5% speak Irish daily outside school, near Co. Tipperary’s towns (0.9%) and lower than Irish towns (1.1%). Under 15: just over a fifth of residents. People aged 15 to 24 are 13% of the population.
50.1% of Roscrea’s residents are women
2,776 women and 2,766 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Roscrea | Co. Tipperary | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 19% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 15% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 16% | 12% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 20% | 17% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 43% | 40% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.1% | 5.9% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 16% | 25% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Tipperary and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Roscrea is run by Tipperary County Council, its only council: Ireland has one tier of local government. At the last local elections, 56% of voters went to the polls. Independent lead Tipperary County Council with 14 of 40 seats, but no party has a majority: 21 are needed.
| Turnout | Roscrea | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 66% | 61% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 56% | 55% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Before 1919: that is when nearly one in ten homes were built. Its archaeology runs to 21 recorded sites. Roscrea’s built heritage counts 63 inventory entries; 1 carry national or international standing.
| Heritage | Roscrea | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 114 | 128 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 8.9% | 6.6% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 21 | 35 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Burglary and damage came to 4.6 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Co. Tipperary’s towns (6.8) and Irish towns (6.4). Of the graded crimes in Roscrea, assaults and harassment came up most often (2023–2025). For its size, Roscrea records less crime per resident than 57% of the 201 Irish towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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 | Roscrea | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 4.6 | 6.8 | 6.4 |
| Theft | 11.8 | 10.8 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Roscrea. Best known first.
CastleRoscrea Heritage Centre – Roscrea Castle and Damer Housein town
Abbey or prioryRoscrea Friaryin town
Abbey or prioryThe Abbey Of Mount Saint Joseph3 km outside town, to the west
CastleBallaghmore Castle5 km outside town, to the eastNatural landscapeNatural landscapeGolden Grove Forestin townHistoric houseHistoric houseSt. Crónán's High Cross at Black Millsin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Roscrea’s built heritage counts 63 inventory entries; 1 carry national or international standing. The national record lists 21 archaeological sites in and around the town.
17 notable people were born in Roscrea.
Daisy Bates: DaisyBates1921.jpg : Matilda derivative work: Regi51, Public domain · George Thomas: Anonymous Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roscrea | 5,542 | — | B | A+ | B− | D |
| Birr Offaly | 4,726 | 17 | C | A+ | C− | D |
| Rathdowney Laois | 1,368 | 18 | — | A | B− | C− |
| Templemore | 2,005 | 18 | — | A+ | C+ | C |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Roscrea had 5,542 people at the 2022 census, up from 5,289 in 2016: 4.8% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Roscrea is 37.8, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Tipperary
5,542 people live in Roscrea, 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).