BallinaCo. 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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iBallina sits in F26, Castlebar in F23. Each figure below is tagged with the geographic level it's actually measured at.
Ballina
Castlebar

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

TOWNS
Ballina
Co. MAYO · in F26 · pop · 45 small areas
Castlebar
Co. MAYO · in F23 · pop · 51 small areas
Prices & market● TOWN · exact
Median sale price
€184k
€326k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€98k – €313k
€240k – €404k
Sales (24m)
40
56
Price momentum (YoY)
+30.2%
-17.8%
New-build share
10.8%
21.8%
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
3 prim · 3 sec
3 prim · 3 sec
Ballina · 6 schools (largest first)
St. Mary's Secondary School Secondary
539 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
St Muredachs College Secondary
401 pupils · 65% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Moyne College Secondary
207 pupils · 35% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
Scoil Íosa Primary
245 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Gaelscoil Na Gceithre Maol Primary
138 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Saint Michaels N S Primary
27 pupils · Church Of Ireland
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
9
11
GP practices
1
2
Pharmacies
12
7
Hospitals
1
2
Bus stops
6
12
Rail / Luas stops
1
1
Gyms & leisure
10
16
Parks & playgrounds
5
15
Sports pitches
26
25
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
107m · ~130 rush
74m · ~100 rush
Limerick
153m · ~170 rush
130m · ~150 rush
Dublin
191m · ~225 rush
187m · ~220 rush
Cork
232m · ~255 rush
209m · ~230 rush
Waterford
252m · ~265 rush
241m · ~255 rush
Affluence & profile● ELECTORAL DIVISION
Affluence (Pobal HP)
-13
-2.7
Ballina · 4 EDs, poorest → richest
-19Ardnaree South UrbanVery disadvantaged
-16Ballina UrbanVery disadvantaged
-5Ballina RuralBelow average
+1Ardnaree South RuralAbove average
Castlebar · 3 EDs, poorest → richest
-6Castlebar UrbanBelow average
+1Castlebar RuralAbove average
+2BreaghwyAbove average
Third-level educated
28.8%
41.9%
Professional class
29.3%
36.6%
Unemployment
18.1%
11.0%
Owner-occupier
61.4%
57.2%
Private rental
24.0%
32.1%
Social housing (LA)
10.3%
7.6%
Liveability & safety● AREA · F26 / F23
Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (BallinaF26, CastlebarF23); safety & crime are the Mayo Garda division — so they read identically for both towns.
Quality of Life
68/100
65/100
National rank
#27
#49
County rank
#2
#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.

Ballina Disadvantaged-13.0
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Ardnaree South Urban -19 (least affluent) → Ardnaree South Rural +1 (most affluent). It straddles the national average.
Castlebar Below average-2.7
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Castlebar Urban -6 (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 96 CSO Small Areas.
AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
BallinaCastlebar
The verdict

Castlebar is the stronger town on the data — it leads on 5 of the 7 dimensions to Ballina’s 1, with 1 level: affluence, education levels, schools & amenities, public transport and access to its nearest city. Ballina leads on affordability.

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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