Town comparison · Ashbourne vs Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney

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Ashbourne or Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney?

Both towns measured at town level, not the wider Eircode area, on the same 53 figures: prices, schools, amenities, social life, commute, affluence and safety.

Ashbourne, Co. Meath · A84 · 13,321 people | Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney, Co. Meath · A92 · 12,984 people

Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney is the stronger town on the data. It leads on 5 of the 7 dimensions to Ashbourne’s 2.

Ashbourne leads on
schools & amenitiesaccess to its nearest city
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads on
affluenceeducation levelspublic transportsafetyaffordability
261215

Ashbourne aheadlevel or not comparableLaytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
AshbourneLaytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney
iAshbourne sits in A84, Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney in A92. Each figure below is tagged with the geographic level it’s actually measured at. The town ahead on a row is the one in green. Scores and percentages are charted against a true 0 to 100 scale; every other row is charted against the larger of the two towns, so the bars compare but don’t imply a ceiling.

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

Ashbourne
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney

Size

TOWN · census

Resident population at the 2022 CSO census, summed over the Small Areas that make up each town. Not scored: a bigger town isn’t a better one, it just explains why the counts below differ.

13,321
Population
12,984

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€430k
Median sale pricelower is better
€364k
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
€315k – €463k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€292k – €441k
534
Sales (24m)
80
+17.7%
Price momentum (YoY)
+0.8%
41.4%
New-build share
7.5%

Schools, health & amenities

TOWN · counts

Facilities in and around each town — each counted once, for the town it’s closest to. Bigger towns naturally score higher — read alongside population.

6 prim · 2 sec
Schools
5 prim · 1 sec
Ashbourne leads
Ashbourne · 8 schools (largest first)
Ashbourne Community School Secondary
1,111 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · INTER DENOMINATIONAL
De Lacy College Secondary
913 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
Scoil Nais Deaglain Primary
647 pupils · Catholic
Scoil Mhuire Primary
481 pupils · Catholic
Ashbourne Educate Together National School Primary
410 pupils · Multi Denominational
Ashbourne Community National School Primary
303 pupils · Multi Denominational
Gaelscoil Na Mí Primary
283 pupils · Multi Denominational
Gaelscoil Na Cille Primary
227 pupils · Catholic
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney · 6 schools (largest first)
Colaiste Na Hinse Secondary
1,030 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
Scoil An Spioraid Naoimh Primary
455 pupils · Catholic
S N Realt Na Mara (c) Primary
388 pupils · Catholic
Gaelscoil An Bhradáin Feasa Primary
388 pupils · Multi Denominational
S N Realt Na Mara (b) Primary
380 pupils · Catholic
Scoil Oilibheir Naofa Primary
358 pupils · Catholic
13
Creches
20
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
4
GP practices
N/A
5
Pharmacies
2
Ashbourne leads
0
Hospitals
0
29
Bus stops
31
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
0
Rail / Luas stops
1
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
22
Gyms & leisure
5
Ashbourne leads
6
Parks & playgrounds
6
46
Sports pitches
40
Ashbourne leads

Social life

TOWN · counts

Places to eat, drink and go out in and around each town — each counted once, for the town it’s closest to. The residents per venue row is the fairer read — raw counts just track town size, so a big town wins by being big.

10
Restaurants
1
Ashbourne leads
8
Cafés
6
Ashbourne leads
5
Pubs & bars
4
Ashbourne leads
12
Takeaways
6
Ashbourne leads
0
Nightclubs
0
1
Cinema & theatre
0
Ashbourne leads
370
Residents per venuelower is better
764
Ashbourne leads
#42 of 65 large towns
Most vibrant (national)lower is better
#58 of 65 large towns
Ashbourne leads

Day-to-day

TOWN · counts

The errands you run without thinking about them. Same caveat — read the residents-per-service row alongside the counts.

8
Supermarkets
7
Ashbourne leads
9
Convenience shops
2
Ashbourne leads
3
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
0
Ashbourne leads
3
Banks
0
Ashbourne leads
0
Post offices
2
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
8
Hairdressers
4
Ashbourne leads
3
Dentists
0
Ashbourne leads
1
Vets
1
4
Filling stations
2
Ashbourne leads
1
EV charging
4
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
3
Library & community centre
1
Ashbourne leads
310
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
565
Ashbourne leads

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.

27m · ~55 rush
Dublinlower is better
43m · ~80 rush
Ashbourne leads
127m · ~140 rush
Waterfordlower is better
149m · ~165 rush
Ashbourne leads
148m · ~165 rush
Limericklower is better
170m · ~190 rush
Ashbourne leads
153m · ~175 rush
Galwaylower is better
175m · ~200 rush
Ashbourne leads
187m · ~210 rush
Corklower is better
209m · ~230 rush
Ashbourne leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
-5.3
Affluence (Pobal HP)
-2.3
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
Ashbourne · 4 EDs, poorest → richest
-10DonaghmoreDisadvantaged
-4DonaghmoreBelow average
+3KilbrewAbove average
+3KilbrewAbove average
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney · 4 EDs, poorest → richest
-4St. Mary'sBelow average
-3St. Mary'sBelow average
-2JulianstownBelow average
-2JulianstownBelow average
28.4%
Third-level educated
36.2%
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
35.8%
Professional class
39.1%
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
12.5%
Unemploymentlower is better
10.8%
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
90.0%
Owner-occupier
78.6%
Ashbourne leads
6.7%
Private rental
12.3%
1.8%
Social housing (LA)
3.8%

Liveability & safety

AREA · A84 / A92

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (AshbourneA84, Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-DonacarneyA92); safety & crime are the Meath Garda division.

62/100
Quality of Life
67/100
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (A84 / A92) 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.

AshbourneLaytown-Bettystown-Mornington-DonacarneyOverall (avg)
Safety62476754
Affordability7988
Infrastructure5993
Family9073
Education5748
Environment5674
Economic4336
020406080100020406080100
#66
National ranklower is better
#31
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
#2
County ranklower is better
#1
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
47/100
Safety
54/100
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads
76
Crime / 1,000lower is better
68
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney leads

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.

Ashbourne Below average-5.3
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Donaghmore -10 (least affluent) → Kilbrew +3 (most affluent). It straddles the national average.
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney Below average-2.3
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: St. Mary's -4 (least affluent) → Julianstown -1 (most affluent). Every neighbourhood is below the national average.

How accurate is this, and at what level?

TOWN
Prices, amenities and commute are exact and 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.

ED
Affluence, profile and tenure are Electoral-Division level.

Published per Electoral Division and averaged across the town’s EDs, with a range where the town spans several.

AREA
Liveability and safety are wider-area, not the town.

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

Population growth isn’t shown: the 2016 and 2022 censuses don’t use the same Small Areas, and the areas that were re-cut are the ones that grew, so a like-for-like comparison understates growth badly. Rent and yield are still too sparse to show per town. Built from 81 CSO Small Areas.

Homes for sale in Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney

The stronger town on the data.

Compare somewhere else

Put any two Irish towns head to head, or step up to the wider Eircode areas.