Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 1,074 residents in Co. Wicklow. The population grew 16% between 2016 and 2022.
Where it does best is safety (A−) — burglary and criminal damage run at 3.2 per 1,000 residents a year, violent crime at 3.4. Prices run to a median €395,000, 7.3 times local household income. It is hard to get around without a car: 9% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train, against 23% in the typical Irish town. The local economy is weaker than most: jobs reach 62% of 15 to 64s, and unemployment is 12%.
Figures: crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · commuting and work, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO. With fewer than 2,500 residents, Dunlavin gets subject grades but no overall one among Irish towns.
Rents for this town aren't published on their own, so its Cost Grade uses the county's average rent. 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 Dunlavin does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Dunlavin 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 →
10 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
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 Dunlavin.
The commonest graded crime in Dunlavin was assaults and harassment (2023–2025). For its size, Dunlavin records less crime per resident than 62% of the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people. Theft, shown but not graded, ran at 1.5 per 1,000 a year, below Co. Wicklow’s towns (8.2) and Irish towns (15.3) alike.
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 | Dunlavin | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 3.2 | 4.6 | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 14.8 | 33.6 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 1.5 | 8.2 | 15.3 |
| Violent crime | 3.4 | 3.9 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
6.8% of workers did their job mainly from home at the census. The car took 84% of commuters, higher than both Co. Wicklow’s towns (74%) and Irish towns (66%). Before tax, the average household brings in €54,450 a year.
| Census 2022 | Dunlavin | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 62% | 69% | 68% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 45% | 36% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 12% | 8.9% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €54,450 | €64,387 | €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.
Within 3 km of Dunlavin there are 3 schools (2 primary schools and 1 secondary school). A third of the schools are in the DEIS scheme, higher than Co. Wicklow’s towns (20%) and near Irish towns (35%). St Kevin's Community College is the nearest secondary school, 0.6 km away.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S N Nicolais Naofa Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 250 | Catholic |
| St Kevin's Community College DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 829 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Dunlavin | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +22% | +12% | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 9% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 33% | 20% | 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.
An estimated 13% of homes in Dunlavin have radon above the reference level. The ground under Dunlavin carries no high landslide susceptibility. Very few of its homes sit on low ground by water.
| Share of homes | Dunlavin | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0.4% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Private renters make up 14% of households, below both Co. Wicklow’s towns (16%) and Irish towns (22%). Owners make up 56% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €400,000 | 45 |
| Second-hand homes | €277,500 | 36 |
| The last 12 months | €405,000 | 35 |
| Housing | Dunlavin | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 29% | 14% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 56% | 71% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 14% | 16% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €395K | €440K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Disability, age-adjusted: 117 for every 100 expected in Dunlavin. 26% of residents have a disability, above Co. Wicklow’s towns (24%) and Irish towns (22%) alike. Self-reported good health: 91% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Dunlavin | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a disability | 26% | 24% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.3% | 1.8% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 91% | 90% | 88% |
| Unpaid carers | 6% | 5.6% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Over twelve months, Dunlavin averages 9.5°C. November is the wettest month locally, with 110 mm of rain on average. July afternoons reach 19.7°C here, in line with Co. Wicklow’s towns (19.7°C) and Irish towns (19.9°C).
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Dunlavin | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 1.6°C | 3.3°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.5°C | 10.5°C | 10.3°C |
| Rain a year | 1,008 mm | 988 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 19.7°C | 19.7°C | 19.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Walkers have 0.1 km per km² of paths and tracks, below both Co. Wicklow’s towns (1.2 km per km²) and Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Dunlavin has one park, with 4 ha of green space in all. Every 1,000 residents of Dunlavin share 4.1 ha of green space.
| Outdoors | Dunlavin | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 0% | 5.7% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 100% | 75% | 92% |
| Sea within 5 km | 0% | 34% | 0% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.1 km per km² | 1.2 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
In November a normal day reaches 10°C and a normal night 4°C; the forecast for Dunlavin below sets each day against them. Expect a dry, breezy day today, the wind reaching 23 km/h and the temperature dipping to 7°C. By December, a normal day reaches 8°C and a normal night 2°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 265 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 4°C | 206 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 10°C | 235 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 6°C | 302 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Under-15s account for nearly a quarter of the population. Daily Irish speakers outside school: 0.3%, below both Co. Wicklow’s towns (1.1%) and Irish towns (1.1%). Graduates make up 21% of adults.
51.0% of Dunlavin’s residents are women
548 women and 526 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Dunlavin | Co. Wicklow | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 23% | 24% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 26% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 26% | 24% |
| 65+ | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 18% | 10% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 22% | 15% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 35% | 36% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.1% | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 21% | 32% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Wicklow and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Turnout at the last local elections was 55%. Wicklow County Council is the one council for Dunlavin; Ireland has no town or county councils between it and the government. At the general election 68% voted, near Co. Wicklow’s towns (68%) and higher than 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 | Dunlavin | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 68% | 68% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 55% | 54% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes built before 1919 account for 8.6% of the housing. The Sites and Monuments Record lists 10 sites here, lower than both Co. Wicklow’s towns (14) and Irish towns (11). Dunlavin has 17 buildings on the national inventory of architectural heritage, 1 of them rated of national or international importance.
| Heritage | Dunlavin | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 158 | 54 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 8.6% | 5.5% | 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 Dunlavin; these are the best known within 40 km.
Abbey or prioryGlendalough26 km east
National parkWicklow Mountains National Park21 km east
Historic houseRussborough House and Parklands13 km northeast
FortDún Ailinne8 km northwest
CastleBallyloughan Castle25 km south
CastleCarlow Castle30 km southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Dunlavin has 17 buildings on the national inventory of architectural heritage, 1 of them rated of national or international importance. The national record lists 10 archaeological sites in and around the town.
2 notable people were born in Dunlavin; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Ninette de Valois: Rob Croes for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Clare Daly: The Left, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Christy Moore: cybernoelie, CC BY 2.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunlavin | 1,074 | — | — | C | A− | B |
| Kilcullen Kildare | 3,815 | 8.5 | A+ | B+ | A | B− |
| Athgarvan Kildare | 1,193 | 11 | — | C+ | C | A |
| Curragh Camp Kildare | 1,076 | 13 | — | B | C | D |
| Baltinglass | 2,611 | 14 | C+ | B | A− | C |
| Newbridge Kildare | 24,366 | 15 | B− | B+ | C | B− |
| Blessington | 5,611 | 16 | C+ | C | B− | B |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Dunlavin had 1,074 people at the 2022 census, up from 924 in 2016: 16.2% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
7% mostly work from home, and 45% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
The median age in Dunlavin is 38.8, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Wicklow
Dunlavin has 1,074 people, 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).