BallaCo. Mayo vs CastlebarCo. MayoTown level

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

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iBoth towns sit in the same Eircode area F23 — on the routing-key area page they would read as one number. At town level they diverge. Each figure below is tagged with the geographic level it's actually measured at.
Balla
Castlebar

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

TOWNS
Balla
Co. MAYO · in F23 · pop 860 · 4 small areas
Castlebar
Co. MAYO · in F23 · pop 12,267 · 51 small areas
Prices & market● TOWN · exact
Median sale price
€241k
€265k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€190k – €296k
€208k – €330k
Sales (24m)
38
466
Price momentum (YoY)
+19.6%
+82.2%
New-build share
6.3%
10.2%
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
1 prim · 1 sec
3 prim · 3 sec
Balla · 2 schools (largest first)
Balla Secondary School Secondary
475 pupils · 65% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Scoil Naisiunta Balla Aluinn Primary
200 pupils · Catholic
Castlebar · 6 schools (largest first)
Davitt College Secondary
880 pupils · 50% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
St. Geralds College Secondary
665 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
St Joseph's Secondary School Secondary
539 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Castlebar Primary School Primary
849 pupils · Catholic
Gaelscoil Raifteirí Primary
221 pupils · Catholic
Castlebar Educate Together National School Primary
128 pupils · Multi Denominational
Creches
1
11
GP practices
0
2
Pharmacies
0
8
Hospitals
0
2
Bus stops
3
12
Rail / Luas stops
0
1
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.
Galway
69m · ~95 rush
74m · ~100 rush
Limerick
116m · ~135 rush
130m · ~150 rush
Dublin
182m · ~215 rush
187m · ~220 rush
Cork
195m · ~215 rush
209m · ~230 rush
Waterford
227m · ~240 rush
241m · ~255 rush
Affluence & profile● ELECTORAL DIVISION
Affluence (Pobal HP)
-1.3
-4.5
Balla · 2 EDs, poorest → richest
-3BallaBelow average
+1BallaAbove average
Castlebar · 6 EDs, poorest → richest
-10Castlebar UrbanDisadvantaged
-6Castlebar UrbanBelow average
-2Castlebar RuralBelow average
+1BreaghwyAbove average
+1Castlebar RuralAbove average
+2BreaghwyAbove average
Third-level educated
34.5%
39.1%
Professional class
38.8%
34.3%
Unemployment
8.1%
14.1%
Owner-occupier
81.0%
57.2%
Private rental
13.7%
32.3%
Social housing (LA)
3.6%
7.9%
Liveability & safety● AREA · F23 / F23
Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (BallaF23, CastlebarF23); safety & crime are the Mayo Garda division — so they read identically for both towns.
Quality of Life
65/100
65/100

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (F23 / F23) 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.

BallaCastlebarOverall (avg)
Safety65826582
Affordability9999
Infrastructure2525
Family7979
Education4646
Environment7676
Economic4646
020406080100020406080100
National rank
#49
#49
County rank
#4
#4
Safety
82/100
82/100
Crime / 1,000
26.9
26.9

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.

Balla Below average-1.3
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Balla -3 (least affluent) → Balla +1 (most affluent). It straddles the national average.
Castlebar Below average-4.5
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Castlebar Urban -10 (least affluent) → Breaghwy +2 (most affluent). It straddles 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 (Mayo) — 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 55 CSO Small Areas.
AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
BallaCastlebar
The verdict

Balla and Castlebar are closely matched — each leads on 3 of the 7 dimensions, with 1 level. Balla is ahead on affluence, affordability and access to its nearest city; Castlebar on education levels, schools & amenities and 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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