Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 401 in Co. Wexford.
A typical home sold for €266,600, or 4.5 years of the town’s median household income. Of those who commute, 6% go on foot, by bike or by public transport. 8% of people here were born outside Ireland. Just over a fifth of residents 15 and over hold a degree.
At under 1,000 residents, Oilgate is too small for the grades Irish towns get.
The 3 things Oilgate does most differently from other towns.
9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Oilgate.
Pupil numbers changed −20% since 2019/20, lower than both Co. Wexford’s towns (+5%) and Irish towns (+4%). Within 3 km of Oilgate there are 2 schools (2 primary schools).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S N Bearna na hAille DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 133 | Catholic |
| S.N. Mhuire DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 19 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Oilgate | Co. Wexford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 100% | 44% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −20% | +5% | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 6% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Letters and results are missing here for a reason: Ireland publishes neither school by school.
By estimate, 4.3% of homes in Oilgate carry radon above the reference level. 18% of its homes sit in high-radon areas, lower than Co. Wexford’s towns (93%) yet higher than Irish towns (0%). The nearest bathing water to Oilgate is Ballinesker, 12 km away, rated excellent in 2025.
| Share of homes | Oilgate | Co. Wexford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 18% | 93% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0.9% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
January nights bottom out at 2.8°C in Oilgate, about level with Irish towns (2.9°C) and below Co. Wexford’s towns (3.0°C). This Co. Wexford town gets 1,042 mm of rain a year. November is the wettest month in the town, with 117 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Oilgate | Co. Wexford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rain a year | 1,042 mm | 1,026 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 2.8°C | 3.0°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
At the census, 2.9% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. Allowing for its ages, Oilgate has 138 residents in bad health per 100 expected, close to Co. Wexford’s towns (145) and above Irish towns (113). Disability touches a third of the town’s population.
| Census 2022 | Oilgate | Co. Wexford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a disability | 33% | 26% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 8% | 5.6% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.9% | 2.7% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 85% | 85% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
71% of households own their home, above both Co. Wexford’s towns (60%) and Irish towns (61%). Social renters account for 21% of households.
| Housing | Oilgate | Co. Wexford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 6% | 22% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 71% | 60% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 21% | 17% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €267K | €250K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area Y21, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Woodland covers 6.6% of the land within 1 km, near Co. Wexford’s towns (6.9%) and higher than Irish towns (2.7%). Protected nature near Oilgate includes Slaney River Valley SAC.
| Outdoors | Oilgate | Co. Wexford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 0% | 83% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.1 km per km² | 0.7 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 5% | 2.1% | 1.8% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 6.6% | 6.9% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
For Oilgate, a normal November afternoon peaks at 11°C, and a normal night bottoms out at 5°C. A dry day with a stiff breeze lies ahead today: wind building to 33 km/h, then a low of 10°C. Plan indoor things for Tuesday, when about 12 mm of rain is forecast.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 285 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 206 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 237 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 314 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
60% of 15 to 64s were in work, close to Co. Wexford’s towns (61%) and below Irish towns (68%). Working from home was the norm for 13% of workers at the census. Unemployment runs at 9.1%.
| Census 2022 | Oilgate | Co. Wexford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 9.1% | 15% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 60% | 61% | 68% |
| Median household income | €59,910 | €44,117 | €57,760 |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 31% | 44% | 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.
19% are under 15, about level with Irish towns (20%) and below Co. Wexford’s towns (21%). Over-65s are a fifth of the population. People aged 15 to 24 are 14% of the population.
50.9% of Oilgate’s residents are women
204 women and 197 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Oilgate | Co. Wexford | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 20% | 13% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 22% | 18% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 32% | 40% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.9% | 6% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 21% | 22% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Wexford and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
At the last local elections, 52% of voters went to the polls. Wexford County Council is the one council for Oilgate; Ireland has no town or county councils between it and the government. General election turnout: 62%, about level with Co. Wexford’s towns (62%) and above Irish towns (59%).
| Turnout | Oilgate | Co. Wexford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 52% | 52% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 62% | 62% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 9% of the total, above both Co. Wexford’s towns (8%) and Irish towns (3.4%). 3 of Oilgate’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
| Heritage | Oilgate | Co. Wexford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 75 | 216 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 0 | 28 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 9% | 8% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Nothing to visit is mapped within 5 km of Oilgate; these are the best known within 40 km.
CathedralSt Aidan's Cathedral9.6 km north
CastleEnniscorthy Castle9.4 km north
MuseumIrish National Heritage Park8.1 km south
Abbey or priory · Office of Public WorksTintern Abbey29 km southwest
Abbey or priorySelskar Abbey9.8 km southeast
CastleJohnstown Castle14 km southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
3 of Oilgate’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
3 notable people were born in Oilgate.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilgate | 401 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Castlebridge | 1,850 | 6.8 | — | B− | A− | C |
| Enniscorthy | 12,310 | 9.9 | D | A− | C− | D |
| Wexford | 21,524 | 11 | C | B | D | D |
| Ferns | 1,317 | 19 | — | B | B | C |
| Rosslare | 1,795 | 19 | — | B− | B− | B |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Oilgate had 401 people at the 2022 census, up from 374 in 2016: 7.2% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Oilgate is 43.1, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Wexford
Oilgate has 401 people, in the area of Wexford 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). 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).