Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 8,185 residents and lies in Co. Tipperary. Over-65s are 19% of the population.
Homes are affordable here, though not without reasons. Thurles grades B− overall and ranks #147 of 320 Irish towns. Nationally, it does better than 54% of Irish towns. Its best grade is for cost of living: home prices sit at a median €220,000, which is 4.9 years of the town’s median household income. The weak point is safety — recorded crime comes to 8.1 violent offences and 6.3 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. Work and incomes lag: among 15 to 64s, 65% are in work; unemployment stands at 11%.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · work, CSO Census 2022.
This town's Hazard risk Grade uses radon and landslides only: open LiDAR heights don't cover enough of its homes to measure flooding, so flood isn't counted for or against it.
The 3 things Thurles does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Thurles 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 →
26 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Thurles. Best known first.
CathedralCathedral of the Assumption, Thurlesin town
Abbey or prioryHolycross Abbey2.9 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleBallynahow Castle3.5 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumLár Na Páirce Museum - The Story of Gaelic Gamesin townGardenGardenSt Mary's Garden of Remembrancein townMuseumMuseumSt. Mary's Famine and War Museumin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Thurles.
Prices in Thurles are up 47% since 2010: the typical sale went from €170K that year to €250K in 2025. Rent averaged €1,047 a month, near Co. Tipperary’s towns (€1,079) and lower than Irish towns (€1,606). The social rented sector houses 18% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €215,000 | 542 |
| The last 12 months | €245,000 | 188 |
| Housing | Thurles | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €220K | €230K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,047 | €1,079 | €1,606 |
| Households in social housing | 18% | 19% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 58% | 55% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
The EPA’s radon map puts 1.7% of homes in Thurles above the reference level. Landslides: none of Thurles lies in a high-susceptibility zone. Hardly any of its homes sit low beside water.
| Share of homes | Thurles | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0.1% | 0% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The nearest secondary, Ursuline Secondary School, is 0.3 km away. Three quarters of the secondaries are single-sex, above both Co. Tipperary’s towns (58%) and Irish towns (39%). Families in Thurles have 10 schools within 3 km to choose from: 6 primary schools and 4 secondary schools.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation Primary School Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 247 | Catholic |
| Ursuline Secondary School GirlsLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 895 | Catholic |
| Gaelscoil Durlas Eile GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 194 | Catholic |
| Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed Irish streamIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 601 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Thurles | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 10% | 50% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 75% | 58% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 10% | 4% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +6% | +6% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland publishes no school-by-school results, which is why these cards have no letters.
In 2023–2025, assaults and harassment led the graded crimes in Thurles. Among the 201 Irish towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Thurles has more crime per resident than 63% of them. Thefts came to 18.5 per 1,000 a year (not part of the grade), higher than both Co. Tipperary’s towns (10.8) and Irish towns (15.3).
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 | Thurles | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 95.9 | 59.6 | 54.3 |
| Violent crime | 8.1 | 6 | 5.7 |
| Theft | 18.5 | 10.8 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Income per household averages €44,578 a year, before tax. Nearly half of trips took under 15 minutes, close to Co. Tipperary’s towns (50%) and above Irish towns (31%). Unemployment stands at 11%.
| Census 2022 | Thurles | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 49% | 50% | 31% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 65% | 68% | 68% |
| Median household income | €44,578 | €46,410 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 11% | 9.6% | 9.2% |
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.
Thurles’ year-round mean comes to 10.0°C. July afternoons reach 20.0°C here, in line with Co. Tipperary’s towns (19.8°C) and Irish towns (19.9°C). A year brings 966 mm of rain to Thurles.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Thurles | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.2°C | 2.4°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.0°C | 10.1°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 20.0°C | 19.8°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 966 mm | 1,056 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
There is one park in Thurles; its green space comes to 28 ha. Among the protected sites near Thurles is Lower River Suir SAC. A short walk to green space: 87% of homes, higher than Co. Tipperary’s towns (81%) yet lower than Irish towns (92%).
| Outdoors | Thurles | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 87% | 81% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.5 km per km² | 0.5 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 1.2% | 3.7% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Today stays dry but breezy, with wind up to 24 km/h and a low of 5°C. Tuesday stands out as the wet day ahead, with roughly 4 mm. By December, a normal day reaches 9°C and a normal night 2°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 272 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 196 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 223 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 274 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Daily Irish speakers outside school: 1.4%, above both Co. Tipperary’s towns (0.8%) and Irish towns (1.1%). The share of residents under 15 is 18%. 16% of residents have a birthplace overseas.
52.5% of Thurles’ residents are women
4,298 women and 3,887 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Thurles | Co. Tipperary | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 20% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 12% | 13% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 38% | 40% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.8% | 5.8% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 27% | 23% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Tipperary and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Thurles answers to one council, Tipperary County Council; Ireland has no town tier. 56% of voters turned out at the last local elections, about level with Co. Tipperary’s towns (55%) and above Irish towns (46%). Tipperary County Council has no ruling majority: Independent hold 14 of its 40 seats, short of the 21 needed.
| Turnout | Thurles | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 66% | 61% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 56% | 55% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The Sites and Monuments Record lists 26 sites here, below Co. Tipperary’s towns (32) but above Irish towns (11). The pre-1919 share of homes is 3.9%. Thurles’ built heritage counts 103 inventory entries; 1 carry national or international standing.
| Heritage | Thurles | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 126 | 122 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 26 | 32 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 3.9% | 7.7% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
At the census, 27% of people here had a disability, higher than both Co. Tipperary’s towns (25%) and Irish towns (22%). Disability, age-adjusted: 114 for every 100 expected in Thurles. Self-reported good health: 85% of Thurles’ residents.
| Census 2022 | Thurles | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 86% | 88% |
| With a disability | 27% | 25% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 6.1% | 5.7% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.2% | 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
Thurles’ built heritage counts 103 inventory entries; 1 carry national or international standing. The national record lists 26 archaeological sites in and around the town.
73 notable people were born in Thurles.
Kerry Condon: Howard M. Shum, CC BY 3.0 · Julia Kavanagh: Henri Chanet, Public domain · Paddy Ryan: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Mary Hanafin: Jeff Meade, CC BY 2.0 · Patrick John Ryan: Author unknown, Public domain · Fergus O'Dowd: Flickr user "IAEA Imagebank", CC BY-SA 2.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurles | 8,185 | — | B− | A | C | B− |
| Templemore | 2,005 | 13 | — | A+ | C+ | C |
| Urlingford Kilkenny | 1,196 | 16 | — | A | A− | C+ |
| Cashel | 4,805 | 19 | B | A− | C | C+ |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
The median age in Thurles is 40.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Thurles had 8,185 people at the 2022 census, up from 7,854 in 2016: 4.2% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
7% mostly work from home, and 49% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Tipperary
8,185 people live in Thurles, 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).