Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Co. Westmeath, home to 1,349 people. Between 2016 and 2022, its population grew by 12%.
Housing is within reach: a typical home sold for €237,200, or 5.6 years of the town’s median household income. Safety is another plus — 3.2 burglaries and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, and 2.4 violent crimes. Where it falls short is jobs & income (D−) — 56% of working-age residents are employed, with an unemployment rate of 16%. Health outcomes fall short of most towns: 151 residents in bad health and 125 with a disability for every 100 its ages predict.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · work and health, CSO Census 2022. An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Irish towns; Castlepollard has its subject grades alone.
Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level. 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 Castlepollard does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Castlepollard 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 record adds 8 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 10%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Castlepollard.
11% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, lower than both Co. Westmeath’s towns (17%) and Irish towns (23%). Unemployment runs at 16%. Working from home was the norm for 6.7% of workers at the census.
| Census 2022 | Castlepollard | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 56% | 65% | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 16% | 11% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 48% | 41% | 31% |
| Median household income | €42,430 | €53,593 | €57,760 |
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.
18% live in social housing, higher than both Co. Westmeath’s towns (13%) and Irish towns (13%). Renting privately is how 20% of households live. Households that own their home make up 62%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €230,000 | 75 |
| Housing | Castlepollard | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,049 | €1,253 | €1,606 |
| Median sale price | €237K | €269K | €350K |
| Households in social housing | 18% | 13% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 20% | 25% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
At the census, 2.9% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, higher than both Co. Westmeath’s towns (2%) and Irish towns (2%). A disability affects 28% of people in Castlepollard. Self-reported good health: 85% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Castlepollard | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 7% | 5% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 28% | 22% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.9% | 2% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 85% | 88% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
More of the graded crimes in Castlepollard were assaults and harassment than anything else (2023–2025). In all, 25.3 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded a year, below both Co. Westmeath’s towns (61.1) and Irish towns (54.3). Among the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Castlepollard has less crime per resident than just over three quarters of them.
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 | Castlepollard | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 3.2 | 7.1 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 2.4 | 7 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 25.3 | 61.1 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 2.7 | 17.1 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
The nearest bathing water to Castlepollard is The Cut, Lough Lene, 7.2 km away, rated excellent in 2025. Radon: an estimated 26% of homes in the town are over the reference level. Landslides: none of Castlepollard lies in a high-susceptibility zone.
| Share of homes | Castlepollard | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Since 2019/20, pupils changed +17%, higher than both Co. Westmeath’s towns (+4%) and Irish towns (+4%). 3 schools lie within 3 km of Castlepollard: 2 primary schools and 1 secondary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castlepollard Mixed N.S. DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 169 | Catholic |
| Castlepollard Community College DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 318 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Castlepollard | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 67% | 17% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +17% | +4% | +4% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 25% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 3% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No letters and no results: Ireland publishes none school by school.
Here July highs average 19.6°C, lower than both Co. Westmeath’s towns (19.9°C) and Irish towns (19.9°C). Taken over the whole year, the average temperature in Castlepollard is 9.6°C. Across the year, Castlepollard now averages 0.2°C more than it did in 1981–2010.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Castlepollard | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average temperature over the year | 9.6°C | 9.8°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 1.8°C | 2.0°C | 2.9°C |
| July high | 19.6°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 990 mm | 947 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
100% of homes are within 400 m of green space, above Co. Westmeath’s towns (68%) and Irish towns (92%) alike. Green space in Castlepollard works out at 6.6 ha per 1,000 people.
| Outdoors | Castlepollard | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 12% | 5.3% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 100% | 68% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.0 km per km² | 0.8 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Green space per 1,000 residents | 6.6 ha | 2.0 ha | 4.1 ha |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
A typical November day reaches 10°C and drops to 4°C at night: the forecast for Castlepollard is set against that. Today brings about 1 mm of rain and a breeze of up to 24 km/h; the low is 8°C. Friday looks like the wettest of the days that follow, with about 3 mm of rain.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 271 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 4°C | 200 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 10°C | 247 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 6°C | 273 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
0.3% speak Irish daily outside school, near Co. Westmeath’s towns (0.7%) and lower than Irish towns (1.1%). Those 65 and older account for 17% of residents. People aged 15 to 24 make up 13% of the town.
Women make up 52.7% of Castlepollard
711 women and 638 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Castlepollard | Co. Westmeath | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 22% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 19% | 10% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.3% | 7% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 18% | 34% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Westmeath and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Local government for Castlepollard is Westmeath County Council alone; Ireland has a single tier. No party holds a majority on Westmeath County Council: Fianna Fáil lead with 9 of 20 seats, short of the 11 needed. In the Dáil, Castlepollard is part of Longford-Westmeath, which elects 5 TDs.
| Turnout | Castlepollard | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 55% | 51% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up a tenth of the total. The Sites and Monuments Record lists 8 sites here, lower than both Co. Westmeath’s towns (26) and Irish towns (11). Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 40 buildings in Castlepollard, each of regional importance.
| Heritage | Castlepollard | Co. Westmeath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 297 | 89 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 10.1% | 3.5% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 8 | 26 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Castlepollard. Best known first.
Abbey or priory · Office of Public WorksFore Abbey3 km outside town, to the east
CastleTullynally Castle1.3 km outside town, to the westHistoric siteHistoric siteColumbarium3 km outside town, to the eastHistoric siteHistoric siteNorth West Gate2.8 km outside town, to the eastHistoric siteHistoric siteSouth East Gate3.1 km outside town, to the eastHistoric siteHistoric siteSt Feichin's Mill2.9 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 40 buildings in Castlepollard, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded 8 sites here.
8 notable people were born in Castlepollard.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlepollard | 1,349 | — | — | A | A | D |
| Oldcastle Meath | 1,409 | 13 | — | A− | B+ | C+ |
| Granard Longford | 1,058 | 17 | — | A− | B | B− |
| Mullingar | 22,667 | 18 | C+ | B+ | C− | B |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Castlepollard had 1,349 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,202 in 2016: 12.2% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
7% mostly work from home, and 48% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
The median age in Castlepollard is 39.3, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Westmeath
Castlepollard has 1,349 people, 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).