Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0Residents with no religion make up 8.7% in Ferns, less than in 96% of Irish towns
28% of households are one person living alone, against 24% across Ireland’s towns. Ferns’s 516 households held 1,317 residents at the 2022 Census. On the census count, 2.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Higher than in 88% of Irish towns: 1.2% of homes are holiday homes.
Ferns changed by +2% from 2016 to 2022, slower than 80% of Irish towns
Residents at the 2016 and 2022 censuses, on 2022 boundaries, and the change beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Change, 2016 to 2022
CSO publishes yearly population estimates for counties and regions, not towns, so the trend is two censuses rather than a line; 2016 ages aren’t on 2022 boundaries, so there is no change by age.
Across Ireland’s towns, the typical town changed +8%; across Co. Wexford’s towns, +11%.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 66% of Irish towns, at 16%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Half of Ferns’s residents are over 38.1, older than in 56% of Irish towns. In Ferns, 13% of residents are aged 15 to 24. For comparison, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Wexford 51.3%, Ireland 51.2%.
Below 83% of Irish towns: 5.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
CSO’s social classes (everyone, by their own or their family’s occupation), the occupations of those at work, and where residents lived a year before the Census.
Residents by social class · all residents
Where residents lived a year earlier
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Workers by occupation · residents at work
Little separates the share of students among residents 15 and over here, 9.1%, from the figure across Ireland’s towns. The benchmark for residents who moved in within the year across Ireland’s towns: 7.5%.
Households here average 2.6 people, below 64% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Wexford’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Across Ferns, 43% of households are parents with children.
Ferns sits below 64% of Irish towns for households in flats (9.9%)
Home types, cars and the internet, by household. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Internet at home · share of households
At home, 79% have broadband, while 17% have no internet access (typical: 7.6%). More households without a car or van than in 55% of Irish towns: 19%. Across Ireland’s towns, just over one in ten households live in a flat or apartment.
Median gross household income: €42,860 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Half of households are below €42,860 a year before tax: 29% under the Ireland median (€60,120). County median: €51,440 (Co. Wexford).
Fewer residents born abroad than 94% of Irish towns: 12%
Place of birth and citizenship as CSO asks them: born abroad includes Irish citizens born abroad.
Born abroad, by birthplace · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
Citizens of another country, by citizenship; CSO counts dual Irish citizens as Irish.
Other languages · share of all residents
CSO’s small-area tables don’t give the year people arrived.
6.9% of residents are citizens of another country; across Ireland’s towns the figure is 15%. For comparison, 22% of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns. The most common home language after English is Polish (3.3%); in all 11% speak another language, and 1.1% speak English not well or not at all.
Daily speakers of Irish outside education: 0.1%, a lower share than 99% of Irish towns
Residents aged 3 and over who can speak Irish, and how often they speak it outside education (CSO).
Irish speakers · residents aged 3 and over
The ability to speak Irish extends to 395 residents (33% of those aged 3 and over). In Co. Wexford, Gorey has the highest share (0.9%). The wider picture: 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
More residents who said they are Catholic than 95% of Irish towns: 82%
Ethnic or cultural background and religion, in CSO’s categories, as people described themselves.
Ethnic groups other than White Irish · all residents
White Irish, not charted: 87% of Ferns · Co. Wexford’s towns 78% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White Irish come Other White (7.1%), Asian or Asian Irish (3%) and Irish Traveller (1.4%). To put it in context, 71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns. Higher than in 85% of Irish towns: 87% of residents describe themselves as White Irish.
Married residents 15 and over: 31%, a lower share than 74% of Irish towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, and unpaid carers.
Partnership status · residents 15 and over
The small-area tables count carers, not their hours of care.
On unpaid carers, 5% here is much the same as across Ireland’s towns. Set beside that, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Adults with a degree or higher: 17%, a lower share than 93% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Across Ireland’s towns, 9.7% of adults finished at primary level or earlier; in Ferns, 15%, and 4.2% hold a postgraduate qualification. On average, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Nearby, 2 of 5 towns have older populations than Ferns
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferns | 1,317 | — | 38.1 | 16% | 43% |
| Enniscorthy | 12,310 | 10.5 km | 37.5 | 15% | 41% |
| Bunclody | 2,053 | 12.5 km | 37.9 | 17% | 38% |
| Carnew | 1,233 | 13.7 km | 39.6 | 15% | 44% |
| Gorey | 11,517 | 17.1 km | 36.4 | 12% | 46% |
| Courtown | 4,365 | 18.7 km | 39.9 | 15% | 41% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Wexford’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Wexford’s towns of 2,500 or more and over the Irish towns of 2,500 or more (city totals left out). Percentiles are within Ireland only.
- The earlier population is an estimate. Towns had no official 2016 count on today’s boundaries, so the 2016 figure is CSO’s electoral-division count shared out by where people lived in 2022: read a small town in a large rural division loosely.
- What these tables don’t give. The small-area tables give no year of arrival and no hours of care, and a town’s electoral divisions run past its edge, so the page doesn’t split a town into named areas (a city lists its neighbourhoods).
- The census’s own words. Born abroad, citizenship, ethnic or cultural background and religion are CSO’s questions and categories; the page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
Questions about Ferns’s residents
What is the population of Ferns?
Ferns had 1,317 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Ferns?
The median age is 38.1. 24% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Ferns?
33% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (395 people), and 0.1% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Ferns?
87% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 12% were born abroad and 6.9% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Ferns?
82% are Catholic, 8.7% have no religion and 9% another religion; 5.2% didn’t say.
Is Ferns good for families?
43% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 24% of residents are under 18. Schools near Ferns are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Ferns?
Median gross household income in Ferns was €42,860 in 2022, against €51,440 across Co. Wexford and €60,120 for Ireland.
Sources: CSO, Census of Population 2022, Small Area Population Statistics · CSO PxStat FP009 (2016 by electoral division) · CSO GPIIA, household income 2022. 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).