Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 1,022 residents, it is a town in Co. Waterford.
Where it does best is cost of living — buying the median home, at €195,000, takes 4.2 times the town’s median household income. Incomes are on the low side: the unemployment rate is 15%, with 61% of 15 to 64s in work. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for safety, B for health, B− for walkability and B for hazard risk. Its architectural heritage runs to 68 buildings on the national inventory.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · work, health and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · radon, EPA. Tallow has subject grades but no overall grade: Irish towns get one from 2,500 residents.
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 Tallow does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Tallow with Irish towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Tallow has subject grades but no overall grade: Irish towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades Irish towns →
68 buildings on the National Inventory inside Tallow.
The record adds 8 archaeological sites.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Tallow.
Employment among 15- to 64-year-olds stood at 61% at the census. The average trip to work took 26.1 min, above Co. Waterford’s towns (20.4 min) but below Irish towns (27.6 min). At the census, 5.7% of workers worked mainly from home.
| Census 2022 | Tallow | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 15% | 11% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 61% | 65% | 68% |
| Average trip | 26.1 min | 20.4 min | 27.6 min |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 43% | 47% | 31% |
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.
Social housing holds 13% of households, below both Co. Waterford’s towns (19%) and Irish towns (13%). Households that own their home make up 63%. 22% of households rent privately.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €195,000 | 45 |
| Housing | Tallow | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €195K | €294K | €350K |
| Households in social housing | 13% | 19% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 63% | 59% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 22% | 16% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
On high landslide susceptibility: 0.5% of homes, about level with both Co. Waterford’s towns (0.2%) and Irish towns (0%). For radon, the estimate for Tallow is 1.8% of homes above the reference level.
| Share of homes | Tallow | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 69% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 5.2% | 0% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
All told, 21.2 crimes per 1,000 residents are recorded each year. Violent crime ran at 4 per 1,000 residents a year, below Co. Waterford’s towns (10.6) and Irish towns (5.7) alike. Assaults and harassment topped the graded crimes in Tallow (2023–2025).
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 | Tallow | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 21.2 | 85 | 54.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 4.6 | 9.7 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 4 | 10.6 | 5.7 |
| Theft | 2.6 | 22 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
January nights bottom out at 3.0°C in Tallow, about level with Irish towns (2.9°C) and below Co. Waterford’s towns (3.4°C). In July, daytime highs in Tallow average 20.3°C. This Co. Waterford town gets 1,080 mm of rain a year.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Tallow | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 20.3°C | 20.2°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,080 mm | 1,022 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.7°C | 10.8°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 3.0°C | 3.4°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Green space lies within 400 m of 72% of homes. Its paths and tracks come to 0.3 km per km², lower than both Co. Waterford’s towns (1.1 km per km²) and Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Among the protected sites near Tallow is Blackwater River (Cork/Waterford) SAC.
| Outdoors | Tallow | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 72% | 80% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 3.9% | 1% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.3 km per km² | 1.1 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 4.5% | 5.5% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Tallow’s averages for November set the scene: the usual high is 12°C, the usual low 5°C. Any rain today should be slight, though the wind picks up to 27 km/h; the low is 6°C. In December, the normal shifts to highs of 10°C and lows of 3°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 10°C | 3°C | 310 mm |
| Spring | 14°C | 6°C | 233 mm |
| Summer | 20°C | 11°C | 230 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 7°C | 308 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
People aged 15 to 24 are just over a tenth of the population. Daily Irish speakers outside school: 0.7%, about level with Co. Waterford’s towns (0.8%) and below Irish towns (1.1%). 19% of residents are children under 15.
Women make up 47.8% of Tallow
489 women and 533 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Tallow | Co. Waterford | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 19% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 16% | 12% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 23% | 18% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 38% | 36% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.6% | 6% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 18% | 29% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Waterford and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
At the general election 56% voted, about level with Co. Waterford’s towns (56%) and below Irish towns (59%). With 8 of 32 seats, Independent are the largest group on Waterford City and County Council, short of the 17 a majority needs. Local government for Tallow is Waterford City and County Council alone; Ireland has a single tier.
| Turnout | Tallow | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 52% | 48% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 56% | 56% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
30.2% of homes date from before 1919. 8 archaeological sites are on the record, lower than both Co. Waterford’s towns (10) and Irish towns (11).
| Heritage | Tallow | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 665 | 34 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 30.2% | 2.6% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
25% of residents in Tallow live with a disability. Allowing for its ages, Tallow has 103 residents in bad health per 100 expected, below Co. Waterford’s towns (132) and Irish towns (113) alike. Ages taken into account, Tallow counts 109 people with a disability for every 100 predicted.
| Census 2022 | Tallow | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 4.4% | 5.6% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 25% | 24% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.2% | 2.4% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 87% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
2 schools lie within 3 km of Tallow: 2 primary schools. Half of the schools are in the DEIS scheme, higher than both Co. Waterford’s towns (41%) and Irish towns (35%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 150 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Tallow | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −10% | +4% | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 6% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 50% | 41% | 35% |
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.
One place to visit is mapped within 5 km of Tallow; with it, the best known within 40 km.
CastleLismore Castle7.1 km northeast
CastleConna Castle6.8 km west
Castle · Office of Public WorksCahir Castle32 km north
CathedralSt Carthage's Cathedral Lismore7.2 km northeast
ZooFota Wildlife Park31 km southwest · 415K visitors a year (2022)Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The national inventory of architectural heritage lists 68 buildings in Tallow, each rated of regional importance. 8 archaeological sites are on the record here.
3 notable people were born in Tallow.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tallow | 1,022 | — | — | B+ | B | B |
| Lismore | 1,347 | 6.7 | — | B | B | C+ |
| Kilworth Cork | 1,179 | 19 | — | B | A+ | B+ |
| Youghal Cork | 8,564 | 19 | C | A | C− | C |
| Rathcormac Cork | 1,957 | 19 | — | C+ | A | D |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Tallow had 1,022 people at the 2022 census, up from 976 in 2016: 4.7% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Tallow is 42.2, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
6% mostly work from home, and 43% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Waterford
Tallow has 1,022 people, 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).