Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 1,389 people, lies in Co. Waterford. Between 2016 and 2022, its population grew by 10%.
Ballinroad’s best grade is for jobs & income — 72% of people aged 15 to 64 are in work, and unemployment is 5%. Getting around depends on the car. 3% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the typical Irish town: 23%). Homes sell for a median €294,600, about 4.3 times what a household here earns in a year. It also trails on safety — gardaí record 8.1 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, and 6.7 burglaries and acts of criminal damage.
Figures: work and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO. An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Irish towns; Ballinroad has its subject grades alone.
This town's house price is the median for its whole Eircode routing key, town and countryside together: fewer than 30 sales in the town itself were recorded on the Property Price Register in 2023 to 2025, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Rents for this town aren't published on their own, so its Cost Grade uses the county's average rent. 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 Ballinroad does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Ballinroad 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 →
3 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
1% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ballinroad.
The car carried 85% of commuters at the census. Working mainly from home: 12% of workers, higher than both Co. Waterford’s towns (10%) and Irish towns (11%). 4.7% of the labour force are out of work.
| Census 2022 | Ballinroad | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 4.7% | 11% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 56% | 47% | 31% |
| Median household income | €69,240 | €48,421 | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 72% | 65% | 68% |
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.
St Augustines College is the nearest secondary school, 1.1 km away. DEIS, the support scheme, covers 14% of them, below Co. Waterford’s towns (41%) and Irish towns (35%) alike. Within 3 km of Ballinroad there are 7 schools (4 primary schools and 3 secondary schools).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S N Dun na Mainistreach Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 455 | Catholic |
| St Augustines CollegeLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 1,069 | Catholic |
| Scoil Gearbhain GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 310 | Catholic |
| Scoil Naomh Seosamh DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 151 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Ballinroad | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 14% | 6% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 14% | 41% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +11% | +4% | +4% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 33% | 56% | 39% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No letters, no results: Irish schools aren’t ranked one by one.
Low-lying near a river: 4.9% of homes, above both Co. Waterford’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0.5%). Clonea Beach, 2.7 km from Ballinroad, is the closest bathing water; it was rated excellent in 2025. Also worth knowing: under 1% of homes locally are estimated to have radon above the reference level.
| Share of homes | Ballinroad | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 0.9% | 69% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 4.9% | 0% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Among the graded crimes in Ballinroad, the most frequent was assaults and harassment (2023–2025). In all, 68.4 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded a year, between Co. Waterford’s towns (85) and Irish towns (54.3).
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 | Ballinroad | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 8.1 | 10.6 | 5.7 |
| Burglary & damage | 6.7 | 9.7 | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 68.4 | 85 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 15 | 22 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
At the census, 1.6% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, lower than both Co. Waterford’s towns (2.4%) and Irish towns (2%). Disability touches 18% of Ballinroad’s population. Weighed against its ages, disability locally runs at 100 per 100 expected.
| Census 2022 | Ballinroad | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 93% | 87% | 88% |
| With a disability | 18% | 24% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.6% | 2.4% | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.1% | 5.6% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
A January night in Ballinroad drops to 3.5°C on average, close to Co. Waterford’s towns (3.4°C) and above Irish towns (2.9°C). Taken over the whole year, the average temperature in the town is 10.9°C. The town is 0.2°C warmer over the year than in 1981–2010.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ballinroad | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average temperature over the year | 10.9°C | 10.8°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 3.5°C | 3.4°C | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,097 mm | 1,022 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 20.0°C | 20.2°C | 19.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Among the protected sites near Ballinroad is Dungarvan Harbour SPA. Within 5 km, 35% is sea, above Co. Waterford’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%) alike. Green space lies within 400 m of 71% of homes.
| Outdoors | Ballinroad | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea within 5 km | 35% | 0% | 0% |
| Near a park | 71% | 80% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.7 km per km² | 1.1 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 3.5% | 5.5% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Ballinroad’s November average makes a useful yardstick: afternoons reach 12°C, nights fall to 5°C. The sky keeps its rain today; wind tops out at 15 km/h, and the low reaches 6°C. Plan indoor things for Tuesday, when about 27 mm of rain is forecast.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 10°C | 4°C | 315 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 228 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 12°C | 237 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 8°C | 318 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Just over two in five adults hold a degree, higher than both Co. Waterford’s towns (29%) and Irish towns (36%). Over-65s are 8% of the population. Foreign-born residents make up 12% of the population.
52.2% of Ballinroad’s residents are women
725 women and 664 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ballinroad | Co. Waterford | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 28% | 19% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 31% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 8% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 6.3% | 12% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 9% | 18% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 37% | 36% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.2% | 6% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 42% | 29% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Waterford and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Local elections drew 53% of voters to the polls last time. Waterford City and County Council runs Ballinroad: Ireland has one tier of local government, with no town council below it. No party holds a majority on Waterford City and County Council: Independent lead with 8 of 32 seats, short of the 17 needed. The general election drew a turnout of 56%.
| Turnout | Ballinroad | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 53% | 48% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 56% | 56% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
0.6% of its homes were built before 1919, below Co. Waterford’s towns (2.6%) and Irish towns (3.4%) alike. Scaled to its population, that is 14 inventory buildings for every 10,000 people in Ballinroad. The archaeological record lists 3 sites here.
| Heritage | Ballinroad | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 14 | 34 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 0.6% | 2.6% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 3 | 10 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
11% live in social housing, lower than both Co. Waterford’s towns (19%) and Irish towns (13%). Private renters make up 17% of households.
| Housing | Ballinroad | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 70% | 59% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 11% | 19% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €295K | €294K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 17% | 16% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area X35, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
2 places to visit are mapped within 5 km of Ballinroad; with them, the best known within 40 km.
MuseumWaterford County Museum2.7 km outside town, to the southwest
Castle · Office of Public WorksCahir Castle38 km northwest
Castle · Office of Public WorksOrmond Castle29 km northeast
CastleLismore Castle25 km west
CathedralCathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, Waterford36 km northeast
Abbey or prioryMount Melleray Abbey21 km northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Ballinroad’s built heritage counts 2 inventory entries, each of regional standing. 3 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
No notable person born in Ballinroad is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Ernest Walton: Nobel foundation, Public domain · Moe Dunford: German Comic Con, CC BY 3.0 · James Vincent Cleary: William Cochrane (1831-1898) and John Castell Hopkins (1864-1923), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballinroad | 1,389 | — | — | B− | C | B |
| Dungarvan | 10,081 | 3.4 | C+ | B− | C | C+ |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Ballinroad had 1,389 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,264 in 2016: 9.9% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Ballinroad is 34.9, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Waterford
1,389 people live in Ballinroad, in the area of Waterford City and 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).