Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It has 72 buildings on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. 13,399 residents make their home in this town in Co. Wicklow.
Easy on the wallet, harder on other counts. Taken together, its subjects give Arklow a C+ overall, better than just over a third of Irish towns. The ranking puts it #207 of 320 Irish towns. Health lags: bad health runs at 133 and disability at 122 per 100 expected for its ages. It also trails on jobs & income — the unemployment rate is 11%, with 63% of 15 to 64s in work. Where it does best is cost of living (A−): set against the median household income, the median home, at €280,000, costs 5.6 times as much. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for safety and B for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · health and work, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · radon, EPA.
The 2 things Arklow does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Arklow 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 →
7 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
7% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Arklow.
At the census, 17% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, between Co. Wicklow’s towns (15%) and Irish towns (23%). Of those in the labour force, 11% are unemployed. The average household earns €49,940 a year before tax.
| Census 2022 | Arklow | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 63% | 69% | 68% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 43% | 35% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 11% | 8.5% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €49,940 | €65,194 | €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.
2.4% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, higher than both Co. Wicklow’s towns (1.8%) and Irish towns (2%). A disability affects just over a quarter of people in Arklow. Unpaid caring falls to 6.1% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Arklow | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a disability | 26% | 23% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 6.1% | 5.5% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.4% | 1.8% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 90% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Prices in Arklow are up 63% since 2010: the typical sale went from €184K that year to €300K in 2025. This Co. Wicklow town is the cheapest of the 9 towns in Co. Wicklow: its median sale is €280,000. Owners make up 65% of households, lower than Co. Wicklow’s towns (72%) yet higher than Irish towns (61%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €275,000 | 490 |
| The last 12 months | €325,000 | 155 |
| Housing | Arklow | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €280K | €440K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,359 | €1,633 | €1,606 |
| Households owning their home | 65% | 72% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 19% | 14% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Families in Arklow have 9 schools within 3 km to choose from: 5 primary schools and 4 secondary schools. Single-sex secondaries: 50%, higher than both Co. Wicklow’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (39%). The nearest secondary, St Marys College, is 0.3 km away.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Josephs N.S. Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 500 | Catholic |
| Glenart College DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 633 | Multi-denominational |
| Gaelcholáiste na Mara GaelcholáisteTeaches through IrishPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 279 | Multi-denominational |
| St John's Senior School DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 323 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Arklow | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 22% | 8% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −7% | +12% | +4% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 50% | 0% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 33% | 10% | 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.
A January night in Arklow drops to 3.4°C on average, about level with Co. Wicklow’s towns (3.3°C) and above Irish towns (2.9°C). The town’s year-round mean comes to 10.6°C. A year brings 995 mm of rain to Arklow.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Arklow | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 3.4°C | 3.3°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.6°C | 10.5°C | 10.3°C |
| Rain a year | 995 mm | 965 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 19.8°C | 19.7°C | 19.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Within 5 km, 34% is sea, higher than both Co. Wicklow’s towns (26%) and Irish towns (0%). Arklow counts 2 parks, adding up to 32 ha of green space. 89% of homes are a short walk (400 m) from green space.
| Outdoors | Arklow | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea within 5 km | 34% | 26% | 0% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 5.7% | 7.4% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 89% | 72% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0.3% | 4.1% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Over the coming week, Tuesday looks wettest, with about 14 mm of rain. What counts as normal for Arklow in November: highs come to 11°C and lows to 5°C. Rain totals about 1 mm today, the wind freshens to 36 km/h, and the low is 10°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 4°C | 269 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 202 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 12°C | 220 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 8°C | 304 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Under 15: just over a fifth of residents. Born abroad: 17% of residents, near Co. Wicklow’s towns (18%) and lower than Irish towns (22%). Retirement age and beyond: 14% of residents are 65 or older.
51.6% of Arklow’s residents are women
6,915 women and 6,484 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Arklow | Co. Wicklow | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 24% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 26% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 24% |
| 65+ | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 12% | 9.2% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 39% | 36% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.2% | 6.6% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 24% | 34% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Wicklow and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
54% voted at the last local elections. One council serves Arklow: Wicklow County Council. At the general election 61% voted, between Co. Wicklow’s towns (68%) and Irish towns (59%). No party holds a majority on Wicklow County Council: Independent lead with 10 of 32 seats, short of the 17 needed.
| Turnout | Arklow | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 61% | 68% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 54% | 54% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
7% of its homes were built before 1919, higher than both Co. Wicklow’s towns (4.3%) and Irish towns (3.4%). Scaled to its population, that is 54 inventory buildings for every 10,000 people in Arklow.
| Heritage | Arklow | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1919 | 7% | 4.3% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 7 | 17 | 11 |
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 54 | 55 | 48 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
About 1.1% of homes in Arklow are estimated to pass the radon reference level. The town’s nearest bathing water is Clogga, 3.9 km away, rated excellent in 2025. Low-lying near the coast: 0.4% of homes, near both Co. Wicklow’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%).
| Share of homes | Arklow | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 18% | 0% | 0.5% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | under 0.1% | 0.5% | 0% |
| Low-lying near the coast | 0.4% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The graded crime recorded most in Arklow was assaults and harassment (2023–2025). For its size, Arklow records less crime per resident than 64% of the 118 Irish towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Violence accounts for 4.5 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
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 | Arklow | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 5.9 | 4.6 | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 45.9 | 32 | 54.3 |
| Violent crime | 4.5 | 3.5 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
One place to visit is mapped within 5 km of Arklow; with it, the best known within 40 km.
MuseumArklow Maritime Museumin town
Abbey or prioryGlendalough26 km northwest
National parkWicklow Mountains National Park29 km northwest
Garden · Office of Public WorksNational Botanic Gardens - Kilmacurragh15 km north
CastleHuntington Castle and Gardens35 km west
CastleHumewood Castle33 km westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Arklow’s built heritage counts 72 inventory entries, each of regional standing. 7 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
12 notable people were born in Arklow.
Róisín Murphy: The British Library, CC BY 3.0 · Ron Delany: United Press, Public domain · Daniel Murray: Wendy Johnson, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Theresa Kearney: Brgold2020, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
Arklow had 13,399 people at the 2022 census, up from 12,994 in 2016: 3.1% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Arklow is 39.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Wicklow
13,399 people live in Arklow, in the area of Wicklow 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).