Town comparison · Balbriggan vs Ballsbridge

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Balbriggan or Ballsbridge?

Both towns measured at town level, not the wider Eircode area, on the same 52 figures: prices, schools, amenities, social life, commute, affluence and safety.

Balbriggan, Co. Fingal · K32 · 22,570 people | Ballsbridge, Co. Dublin · D04 · 33,242 people

Ballsbridge is the stronger town on the data. It leads on 4 of the 7 dimensions to Balbriggan’s 2, with 1 level.

Balbriggan leads on
schools & amenitiesaffordability
Ballsbridge leads on
affluenceeducation levelspublic transportaccess to its nearest city
161224

Balbriggan aheadlevel or not comparableBallsbridge ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
BalbrigganBallsbridge
iBalbriggan sits in K32, Ballsbridge in D04. 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.
!Ballsbridge is a city suburb — its boundary follows the postal area (the Small Areas whose addresses carry the name), not an official settlement line, so it can run broader than the local core and the figures cover that wider postal patch.

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

Balbriggan
Ballsbridge

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.

22,570
Population
33,242

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€339k
Median sale pricelower is better
€800k
Balbriggan leads
€275k – €388k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€561k – €1310k
578
Sales (24m)
907
+8.0%
Price momentum (YoY)
+26.9%
24.2%
New-build share
4.3%

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.

9 prim · 5 sec
Schools
4 prim · 2 sec
Balbriggan leads
Balbriggan · 14 schools (largest first)
Loreto Secondary School Secondary
1,232 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Ardgillan Community College Secondary
1,001 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
Bremore Educate Together Secondary School Secondary
836 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
Balbriggan Community College Secondary
696 pupils · 45% to 3rd-level · INTER DENOMINATIONALDEIS
Coláiste Ghlór Na Mara Secondary
500 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
St Molaga Senior Ns Primary
434 pupils · Catholic
Bracken Educate Together Ns Primary
383 pupils · Multi DenominationalDEIS
S N Naomh Teresa Primary
377 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Scoil Chormaic Primary
376 pupils · Multi Denominational
S N Peadar Agus Pol N Primary
358 pupils · Catholic
Balbriggan Educate Together Ns Primary
357 pupils · Multi DenominationalDEIS
Gaelscoil Bhaile Brigin Primary
337 pupils · Inter Denominational
St Georges N S Primary
334 pupils · Church Of Ireland
Balscadden N S Primary
202 pupils · Catholic
Ballsbridge · 6 schools (largest first)
St Michaels College Secondary
726 pupils · 90% to 3rd-level · CATHOLICFee-paying
The Teresian School Secondary
239 pupils · 80% to 3rd-level · CATHOLICFee-paying
St Christopher's Ns Primary
567 pupils · CatholicDEIS
John Scottus Ns Primary
166 pupils · Multi Denominational
Scoil Caitriona Na Mbraithre Primary
148 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Gaelscoil Eoin Primary
50 pupils · Multi Denominational
22
Creches
14
Balbriggan leads
N/A
GP practices
1
3
Pharmacies
3
0
Hospitals
5
Ballsbridge leads
41
Bus stops
58
Ballsbridge leads
1
Rail / Luas stops
0
Balbriggan leads
13
Gyms & leisure
11
Balbriggan leads
16
Parks & playgrounds
7
Balbriggan leads
39
Sports pitches
56
Ballsbridge 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.

4
Restaurants
24
Ballsbridge leads
7
Cafés
21
Ballsbridge leads
5
Pubs & bars
14
Ballsbridge leads
13
Takeaways
12
Balbriggan leads
0
Nightclubs
0
2
Cinema & theatre
0
Balbriggan leads
728
Residents per venuelower is better
468
Ballsbridge 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.

6
Supermarkets
6
6
Convenience shops
5
Balbriggan leads
1
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
0
Balbriggan leads
3
Banks
2
Balbriggan leads
1
Post offices
2
Ballsbridge leads
4
Hairdressers
4
1
Dentists
5
Ballsbridge leads
2
Vets
0
Balbriggan leads
4
Filling stations
2
Balbriggan leads
2
EV charging
5
Ballsbridge leads
2
Library & community centre
0
Balbriggan leads
705
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
1,072
Balbriggan 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.

31m · ~60 rush
Dublinlower is better
8m · ~15 rush
Ballsbridge leads
136m · ~150 rush
Waterfordlower is better
120m · ~135 rush
Ballsbridge leads
158m · ~175 rush
Limericklower is better
142m · ~160 rush
Ballsbridge leads
163m · ~185 rush
Galwaylower is better
151m · ~175 rush
Ballsbridge leads
197m · ~220 rush
Corklower is better
181m · ~205 rush
Ballsbridge leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
-4.8
Affluence (Pobal HP)
11
Ballsbridge leads
Balbriggan · 4 EDs, poorest → richest
-8Balbriggan UrbanBelow average
-6Balbriggan UrbanBelow average
-5Balbriggan RuralBelow average
-2Balbriggan RuralBelow average
Ballsbridge · 24 EDs, poorest → richest
-2Pembroke East ABelow average
-2Pembroke East ABelow average
+5Pembroke East DAffluent
+6Pembroke East DAffluent
+9South DockAffluent
+10Rathmines East AAffluent
+10Pembroke West AAffluent
+10Pembroke East BAffluent
+10Pembroke East EAffluent
+11South DockAffluent
+11Pembroke East BAffluent
+11Pembroke East CAffluent
+11Pembroke West CAffluent
+12Pembroke West AAffluent
+12Rathmines East DAffluent
+12Rathmines East BAffluent
+12Pembroke East CVery affluent
+12Pembroke West BVery affluent
+12Rathmines East AVery affluent
+13Pembroke West BVery affluent
+13Pembroke East EVery affluent
+13Rathmines East DVery affluent
+14Rathmines East BVery affluent
+15Pembroke West CVery affluent
34.4%
Third-level educated
76.9%
Ballsbridge leads
30.9%
Professional class
60.7%
Ballsbridge leads
13.3%
Unemploymentlower is better
5.6%
Ballsbridge leads
62.6%
Owner-occupier
43.8%
Balbriggan leads
23.0%
Private rental
49.5%
12.1%
Social housing (LA)
3.2%

Liveability & safety

AREA · K32 / D04

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (Balbriggan → K32, Ballsbridge → D04); safety & crime are the DMR North Garda division.

64/100
Quality of Life
65/100
Ballsbridge leads

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (K32 / D04) 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.

BalbrigganBallsbridgeOverall (avg)
Safety64596560
Affordability8615
Infrastructure50100
Family6838
Education5078
Environment9580
Economic3886
020406080100020406080100
#58
National ranklower is better
#50
Ballsbridge leads
#15
County ranklower is better
#13
Ballsbridge leads
59/100
Safety
60/100
Ballsbridge leads
61.5
Crime / 1,000lower is better
60.2
Ballsbridge 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.

Balbriggan Below average-4.8
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Balbriggan Urban -8 (least affluent) → Balbriggan Rural -2 (most affluent). Every neighbourhood is below the national average.
Ballsbridge Affluent+11.0
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Pembroke East A -2 (least affluent) → Pembroke West C +15 (most affluent). It straddles 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 (DMR North), 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 215 CSO Small Areas.

Homes for sale in Ballsbridge

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.