ArdaraCo. Donegal vs Ballybofey-StranorlarCo. DonegalTown level

The same comparison as the area page, but measured for the town itself, not the whole Eircode routing key.

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iArdara sits in F94, Ballybofey-Stranorlar in F93. Each figure below is tagged with the geographic level it's actually measured at.
Ardara
Ballybofey-Stranorlar

Outlines are each town's CSO Small Areas — the exact footprint every figure is measured over.

TOWNS
Ardara
Co. DONEGAL · in F94 · pop 785 · 4 small areas
Ballybofey-Stranorlar
Co. DONEGAL · in F93 · pop 5,019 · 23 small areas
Prices & market● TOWN · exact
Median sale price
€179k
€215k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€136k – €251k
€152k – €265k
Sales (24m)
36
87
Price momentum (YoY)
-61.1%
+35.6%
New-build share
0.0%
14.9%
Schools, health & amenities● TOWN · counts
Count of each facility whose location falls inside the town boundary. Bigger towns naturally score higher — read alongside population.
Schools
2 prim · 0 sec
2 prim · 2 sec
Ardara · 2 schools (largest first)
S N Muire Gan Smal Primary
89 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Ardara Mixed N S Primary
18 pupils · Church Of IrelandDEIS
Ballybofey-Stranorlar · 4 schools (largest first)
St Columbas College Secondary
949 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Finn Valley College Secondary
424 pupils · 40% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
S N Seiseadh Ui Neill Primary
190 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Robertson N S Primary
90 pupils · Church Of IrelandDEIS
Creches
2
5
GP practices
0
0
Pharmacies
1
1
Hospitals
0
1
Bus stops
4
8
Rail / Luas stops
0
0
Gyms & leisure
0
0
Parks & playgrounds
0
0
Sports pitches
0
0
Commute by car● TOWN · from centre
Drive time from the town centre to each city centre — typical off-peak, with an estimated weekday rush hour. OSRM road routing.
Dublin
215m · ~250 rush
185m · ~220 rush
Galway
205m · ~230 rush
196m · ~220 rush
Limerick
251m · ~270 rush
242m · ~260 rush
Waterford
311m · ~325 rush
290m · ~305 rush
Cork
331m · ~355 rush
321m · ~345 rush
Affluence & profile● ELECTORAL DIVISION
Affluence (Pobal HP)
-7.6
-9.6
Ardara · 2 EDs, poorest → richest
-11ArdaraDisadvantaged
-4ArdaraBelow average
Ballybofey-Stranorlar · 6 EDs, poorest → richest
-12StranorlarDisadvantaged
-9DooishDisadvantaged
-9StranorlarDisadvantaged
-8KnockDisadvantaged
-7KnockBelow average
-2DooishBelow average
Third-level educated
29.4%
29.2%
Professional class
31.6%
30.9%
Unemployment
14.1%
15.4%
Owner-occupier
65.0%
68.5%
Private rental
15.4%
14.8%
Social housing (LA)
10.8%
12.4%
Liveability & safety● AREA · F94 / F93
Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (ArdaraF94, Ballybofey-StranorlarF93); safety & crime are the Donegal Garda division — so they read identically for both towns.
Quality of Life
57/100
54/100

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (F94 / F93) from official data — Garda crime, CSO income & census, OPW flood, EPA water, and transport/healthcare/broadband coverage. Refreshed quarterly. The dashed line is each town's overall score (that average) — dimensions to its right beat the average, to its left fall short. Two towns can share a score with a very different mix.

ArdaraBallybofey-StranorlarOverall (avg)
Safety57715471
Affordability100100
Infrastructure2222
Family8380
Education2017
Environment7469
Economic2819
020406080100020406080100
National rank
#93
#101
County rank
#2
#3
Safety
71/100
71/100
Crime / 1,000
44.8
44.8

Affluence range

Pobal HP deprivation index — published per Electoral Division, so the spread shows the town's poorest to richest ED. A town that is a single ED shows one mark, no range.

Ardara Below average-7.6
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Ardara -11 (least affluent) → Ardara -4 (most affluent). Every neighbourhood is below the national average.
Ballybofey-Stranorlar Disadvantaged-9.6
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Stranorlar -12 (least affluent) → Dooish -2 (most affluent). Every neighbourhood is below the national average.

How accurate is this, and at what level?

● TOWN
Prices, amenities & commute — exact, town-specific.

Prices come from individual PPR sales inside the town's Small-Area boundary; schools, GPs, transport, gyms and parks are counted the same way; commute is routed from the town centre. The figures the routing-key area page can't give you.

● ED
Affluence, profile & tenure — Electoral-Division level.

Pobal HP, third-level, class, unemployment, tenure are published per Electoral Division and averaged across the town's EDs — a range where the town spans several EDs (see the bar above).

● AREA
Liveability & safety — wider-area, not the town.

Quality of life and rank are per Eircode routing key; safety & crime are the Garda division (Donegal) — coarser than a town, so two towns in the same county read the same.

Population & growth are loaded for ~7 counties so far (not Leinster yet); rent & yield are too sparse per town. Tap Schools or Affluence to drill in. Built from 27 CSO Small Areas.
AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
ArdaraBallybofey-Stranorlar
The verdict

Ardara and Ballybofey-Stranorlar are closely matched — each leads on 1 of the 7 dimensions, with 5 level. Ardara is ahead on affluence; Ballybofey-Stranorlar on public transport.

Higher is better on every spoke — affluence, education, amenity density, transport, safety, affordability and nearest-city access, scored head-to-head.

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