Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
22,869 people call this town in Co. Westmeath home. Its heritage includes 181 buildings on the national inventory.
Athlone grades C overall, better than a quarter of Irish towns. In the ranking it comes #240 of 320 Irish towns. Safety is its weak spot (D) — violent crime runs at 11.8 per 1,000 residents a year, burglary and criminal damage at 9.9. It lags on health as well — for every 100 its ages would predict, 137 residents are in bad health and 111 have a disability. Prices are modest for what you get: buying the median home, at €268,000, takes 5 times the town’s median household income. Its other grades sit near the middle: C+ for jobs & income and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · health and work, CSO Census 2022 · radon, EPA.
Crime here is counted against the people who live here, but much of it involves people who come in to work, shop or go out, so the rate per resident runs higher than residents' own risk.
The 2 things Athlone does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Athlone 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 →
The register holds 181 buildings on the National Inventory in Athlone, 6 of them of national importance.
78 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Athlone.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more incidents per resident: they are counted where they happen, not where victims live.
Assaults and harassment topped the graded crimes in Athlone (2023–2025). Every kind together came to 81.6 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Co. Westmeath’s towns (48.3) 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 | Athlone | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 11.8 | 5.2 | 5.7 |
| Burglary & damage | 9.9 | 6.3 | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 81.6 | 48.3 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 28.5 | 16.6 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
54% of households own their home. Prices in Athlone have trailed Irish towns since 2010: the typical sale is up 69%, to €317K in 2025, against 77%. Rent averaged €1,315 a month, above Co. Westmeath’s towns (€1,216) but below Irish towns (€1,606).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €357,000 | 192 |
| Second-hand homes | €250,000 | 942 |
| The last 12 months | €325,000 | 434 |
| Housing | Athlone | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 32% | 24% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 54% | 61% | 61% |
| Median sale price | €268K | €270K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,315 | €1,216 | €1,606 |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
2.3% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, above Co. Westmeath’s towns (1.9%) and Irish towns (2%) alike. A disability affects 23% of people in Athlone. Family carers: 4.9% of the people in Athlone look after someone without pay.
| Census 2022 | Athlone | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 2.3% | 1.9% | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 4.9% | 5% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 23% | 22% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 88% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Averaged across the seasons, Athlone sits at 10.0°C. The town is 0.3°C warmer over the year than in 1981–2010. Also worth knowing: a year brings 930 mm of rain, close to both Co. Westmeath’s towns (964 mm) and Irish towns (937 mm).
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Athlone | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.2°C | 1.9°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.0°C | 9.8°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Within 1 km, 6.1% of the land is woodland, higher than both Co. Westmeath’s towns (4.5%) and Irish towns (2.7%). 73% of homes are within 400 m of green space. There are 4 parks in Athlone; together its green space comes to 56 ha.
| Outdoors | Athlone | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 14% | 3.3% | 1.8% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 6.1% | 4.5% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 73% | 63% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 1.3 km per km² | 0.7 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
A typical November day reaches 11°C and drops to 4°C at night: the forecast for Athlone is set against that. The rain holds off today, but the wind gets up to 22 km/h, and the low is 8°C. Of the days after that, Tuesday brings the most rain: about 5 mm.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 262 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 183 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 227 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 258 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Children under 15 make up 20%, below Co. Westmeath’s towns (23%) and close to Irish towns (20%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 13% of residents. Among adults, 36% have a degree.
50.7% of Athlone’s residents are women
11,597 women and 11,272 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Athlone | Co. Westmeath | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 23% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 32% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 21% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 13% | 13% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 11% | 9.8% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 14% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 33% | 36% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6% | 7.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 36% | 33% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Westmeath and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
No party holds a majority on Westmeath County Council: Fianna Fáil lead with 9 of 20 seats, short of the 11 needed. Athlone spans more than one of the local electoral areas: four fifths of its residents vote in Athlone, most of the rest in Athlone (Roscommon County). Turnout at the last local elections was 47%, below Co. Westmeath’s towns (55%) and close to Irish towns (46%).
| Turnout | Athlone | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 47% | 55% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Per 10,000 residents, Athlone counts 79 inventory buildings. 78 archaeological sites are on the record, higher than both Co. Westmeath’s towns (9) and Irish towns (11).
| Heritage | Athlone | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archaeological sites on the record | 78 | 9 | 11 |
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 79 | 99 | 48 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Getting to work takes 22.7 min on average. Unemployment stood at 12%, above both Co. Westmeath’s towns (11%) and Irish towns (9.2%). The census found 65% of 15- to 64-year-olds in work.
| Census 2022 | Athlone | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 49% | 37% | 31% |
| Average trip | 22.7 min | 28 min | 27.6 min |
| Unemployment rate | 12% | 11% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 65% | 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.
Radon above the reference level is estimated in 1.6% of homes in Athlone. Landslides: none of Athlone lies in a high-susceptibility zone.
| Share of homes | Athlone | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 22% | 0% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Irish-medium schools make up 6%, higher than Co. Westmeath’s towns (0%) yet lower than Irish towns (8%). 17 schools lie within 3 km of Athlone: 12 primary schools, 4 secondary schools and 1 special school. Marist College is the nearest secondary school, 1.1 km away.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Marys N.S. DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 573 | Catholic |
| Athlone Community CollegeLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 1,117 | Multi-denominational |
| Scoil na gCeithre Maistri GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 235 | Catholic |
| Corr na Madadh N S DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 306 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Athlone | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 35% | 0% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +11% | +3% | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 6% | 0% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 50% | – | 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.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Athlone. Best known first.
MuseumAthlone Castlein town
Theme parkBaysports2.9 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumAthlone Music Museumin townArt galleryArt galleryBastion Galleryin townArt galleryArt galleryLuan Galleryin townCastleCastleMoydrum Castle900 m outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Athlone’s built heritage counts 181 inventory entries; 6 carry national or international standing. The national record lists 78 archaeological sites in and around the town.
71 notable people were born in Athlone.
Stefan Molyneux: Stefan Molyneux, CC BY 3.0 · John McCormack: Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress, Public domain · Thomas Power O'Connor: Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain · Alan Sheehan: Bucomofo25, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Michael Joseph Curley: Regimus LaFort is listed as the Censor Librorum, and Cardinal John Farley is listed as the Imprimatur., Public domain · Rob Henshaw: Stefano Delfrate, CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
Athlone had 22,869 people at the 2022 census, up from 21,420 in 2016: 6.8% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Athlone is 36.4, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Westmeath
22,869 people live in Athlone, in the area of Westmeath 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).