Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 2,264: a town in Co. Wicklow. Between 2016 and 2022, its population grew by 26%.
Crime is low (B): recorded crime comes to 4 violent offences and 4.4 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. Its weakest subject is hazard risk — an estimated 6% of its homes exceed the radon reference level. The median home sold for €372,000, 6.6 times the town’s median household income. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for health and C+ for walkability.
Figures: crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · radon, EPA · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · health and commuting, CSO Census 2022. An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Irish towns; Rathdrum has its subject grades alone.
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 Rathdrum does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Rathdrum 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 →
1 archaeological site are on the record here too.
10% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Rathdrum, Idaho, is named after Rathdrum.
USUS editionRathdrum, Idaho, settled in 1881, takes its name from this town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Rathdrum.
On high landslide susceptibility: 3.4% of homes, higher than both Co. Wicklow’s towns (0.4%) and Irish towns (0%). Brittas Bay North, 13 km from Rathdrum, is the closest bathing water; it was rated excellent in 2025. Hardly any of its homes sit low beside water.
| Share of homes | Rathdrum | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 3.4% | 0.4% | 0% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Within 3 km of Rathdrum there are 4 schools (3 primary schools and 1 secondary school). For secondary school, the closest is Avondale Community College, 0.3 km from the town. Pupil numbers changed +20% since 2019/20, above Co. Wicklow’s towns (+12%) and Irish towns (+4%) alike.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clochar Muire N.S. DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 176 | Catholic |
| Avondale Community College DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 644 | Multi-denominational |
| Rathdrum Boys N.S. DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 172 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Rathdrum | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 75% | 20% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +20% | +12% | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 9% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
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.
Short trips: 39% under 15 minutes, higher than both Co. Wicklow’s towns (36%) and Irish towns (31%). Just over three quarters of commuters drove to work at the census. The commute to work averages 33.1 min.
| Census 2022 | Rathdrum | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 33.1 min | 31.6 min | 27.6 min |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 39% | 36% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 10% | 8.9% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €56,774 | €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.
14% rent privately, lower than both Co. Wicklow’s towns (16%) and Irish towns (22%). Households that own their home make up 61%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €372,000 | 158 |
| Second-hand homes | €360,000 | 75 |
| The last 12 months | €420,000 | 89 |
| Housing | Rathdrum | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 24% | 14% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 14% | 16% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €372K | €440K | €350K |
| Households owning their home | 61% | 71% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Every kind together came to 29.2 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Co. Wicklow’s towns (33.6) and Irish towns (54.3). The graded crime recorded most in Rathdrum was assaults and harassment (2023–2025). Among the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Rathdrum has more crime per resident than 63% 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 | Rathdrum | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 29.2 | 33.6 | 54.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 4.4 | 4.6 | 6.4 |
| Theft | 7.4 | 8.2 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
July afternoons reach 19.6°C here, near Co. Wicklow’s towns (19.7°C) and lower than Irish towns (19.9°C). A year brings 1,273 mm of rain to Rathdrum. The mean temperature over a year locally is 9.8°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Rathdrum | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rain a year | 1,273 mm | 988 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.8°C | 10.5°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 2.3°C | 3.3°C | 2.9°C |
| July high | 19.6°C | 19.7°C | 19.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Protected nature near Rathdrum includes Vale of Clara (Rathdrum Wood) SAC. Green space lies within 400 m of 66% of homes. This Co. Wicklow town has a single park, with 6 ha of green space in all.
| Outdoors | Rathdrum | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 19% | 5.7% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 66% | 75% | 92% |
| Sea within 5 km | 0% | 34% | 0% |
| Paths per km² of town | 1.3 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.
Tuesday stands out as the wet day ahead, with roughly 15 mm. Judged by the averages, Rathdrum sees November days reach 11°C and nights fall to 4°C. A passing shower is possible today, but barely measurable; the breeze reaches 31 km/h, and the low is 9°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 366 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 263 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 250 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 395 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9.8% of the population. 30% of adults hold a degree, below both Co. Wicklow’s towns (32%) and Irish towns (36%). The 65-and-over age group makes up 13% of residents.
50.3% of Rathdrum’s residents are women
1,138 women and 1,126 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Rathdrum | Co. Wicklow | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 24% | 24% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 9.8% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 31% | 26% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 26% | 24% |
| 65+ | 13% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 15% | 10% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 32% | 36% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.8% | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 30% | 32% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Wicklow and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
At the general election 61% voted, between Co. Wicklow’s towns (68%) and Irish towns (59%). Wicklow County Council runs Rathdrum: Ireland has one tier of local government, with no town council below it. 54% of voters turned out at the last local elections.
| Turnout | Rathdrum | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 61% | 68% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 54% | 54% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
1 archaeological sites are on the record, below Co. Wicklow’s towns (14) and Irish towns (11) alike. Before 1919: that is when 10.3% of homes were built. Rathdrum’s built heritage counts 39 inventory entries, each of regional standing. One recorded monument or archaeological site lies here.
| Heritage | Rathdrum | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 172 | 54 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 10.3% | 5.5% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 1 | 14 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Ages taken into account, Rathdrum counts 86 people in poor health for every 100 predicted. 1.5% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, lower than both Co. Wicklow’s towns (1.8%) and Irish towns (2%). Disability touches a quarter of the town’s population.
| Census 2022 | Rathdrum | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 4.9% | 5.6% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.5% | 1.8% | 2% |
| With a disability | 25% | 24% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 89% | 90% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Rathdrum. Best known first.
Rathdrum’s built heritage counts 39 inventory entries, each of regional standing. One recorded monument or archaeological site lies here.
3 notable people were born in Rathdrum.
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
Rathdrum had 2,264 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,804 in 2016: 25.5% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
11% mostly work from home, and 39% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
The median age in Rathdrum is 37, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Wicklow
2,264 people live in Rathdrum, 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).