Town comparison · Ballsbridge vs Rathmines

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Ballsbridge or Rathmines?

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.

Ballsbridge, Co. Dublin · D04 · 33,242 people | Rathmines, Co. Dublin · D06 · 39,590 people

Rathmines is the stronger town on the data. It leads on 1 of the 7 dimensions to Ballsbridge’s 0, with 6 level.

Rathmines leads on
schools & amenities
8935

Ballsbridge aheadlevel or not comparableRathmines ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
BallsbridgeRathmines
iBallsbridge sits in D04, Rathmines in D06. 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.

Ballsbridge
Rathmines

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.

33,242
Population
39,590

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€801k
Median sale pricelower is better
€805k
Ballsbridge leads
€565k – €1346k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€523k – €1300k
908
Sales (24m)
779
+28.0%
Price momentum (YoY)
+59.6%
4.6%
New-build share
0.6%

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.

4 prim · 2 sec
Schools
8 prim · 6 sec
Rathmines leads
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
Rathmines · 14 schools (largest first)
Muckross Park College Secondary
712 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Alexandra College Secondary
666 pupils · 90% to 3rd-level · CHURCH OF IRELANDFee-paying
Gonzaga College Secondary
573 pupils · 90% to 3rd-level · CATHOLICFee-paying
St. Mary's College C.s.sp., Rathmines Secondary
498 pupils · 85% to 3rd-level · CATHOLICFee-paying
Sandford Park School Ltd Secondary
432 pupils · 85% to 3rd-level · INTER DENOMINATIONALFee-paying
St Conleths College Secondary
325 pupils · 85% to 3rd-level · CATHOLICFee-paying
St. Louis National School Primary
622 pupils · Catholic
St Marys Central N S Primary
607 pupils · Catholic
S N Brighde Primary
368 pupils · Catholic
Ranelagh Multi Denom Ns Primary
220 pupils · Multi Denominational
Harcourt Terrace Educate Together National School Primary
206 pupils · Multi Denominational
Sandford Parish National School Primary
200 pupils · Church Of Ireland
Gaelscoil Lios Na Nog Primary
177 pupils · Catholic
Rathgar N S Primary
94 pupils · Methodist
14
Creches
26
Rathmines leads
1
GP practices
24
Rathmines leads
3
Pharmacies
13
Rathmines leads
5
Hospitals
3
Ballsbridge leads
58
Bus stops
95
Rathmines leads
0
Rail / Luas stops
10
Rathmines leads
11
Gyms & leisure
28
Rathmines leads
7
Parks & playgrounds
13
Rathmines leads
56
Sports pitches
68
Rathmines 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.

24
Restaurants
51
Rathmines leads
21
Cafés
34
Rathmines leads
14
Pubs & bars
23
Rathmines leads
12
Takeaways
30
Rathmines leads
0
Nightclubs
3
Rathmines leads
0
Cinema & theatre
1
Rathmines leads
468
Residents per venuelower is better
279
Rathmines 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
7
Rathmines leads
5
Convenience shops
14
Rathmines leads
0
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
11
Rathmines leads
2
Banks
6
Rathmines leads
2
Post offices
1
Ballsbridge leads
4
Hairdressers
18
Rathmines leads
5
Dentists
15
Rathmines leads
0
Vets
1
Rathmines leads
2
Filling stations
3
Rathmines leads
5
EV charging
3
Ballsbridge leads
0
Library & community centre
7
Rathmines leads
1,072
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
460
Rathmines 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.

8m · ~15 rush
Dublinlower is better
11m · ~20 rush
Ballsbridge leads
120m · ~135 rush
Waterfordlower is better
118m · ~130 rush
Rathmines leads
142m · ~160 rush
Limericklower is better
140m · ~160 rush
Rathmines leads
151m · ~175 rush
Galwaylower is better
150m · ~175 rush
Rathmines leads
181m · ~205 rush
Corklower is better
179m · ~200 rush
Rathmines leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
11
Affluence (Pobal HP)
11.2
Rathmines leads
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
Rathmines · 20 EDs, poorest → richest
+10Rathmines West BAffluent
+10Rathmines West BAffluent
+10Rathmines West DAffluent
+10Rathmines West DAffluent
+10Rathmines West AAffluent
+10Rathmines East AAffluent
+10Rathmines West FAffluent
+10Rathmines West FAffluent
+10Rathmines West AAffluent
+11Rathmines West EAffluent
+12Rathmines East DAffluent
+12Rathmines East CAffluent
+12Rathmines West CAffluent
+12Rathmines East BAffluent
+12Rathmines East AVery affluent
+12Rathmines West EVery affluent
+13Rathmines West CVery affluent
+13Rathmines East CVery affluent
+13Rathmines East DVery affluent
+14Rathmines East BVery affluent
76.9%
Third-level educated
77.2%
Rathmines leads
60.7%
Professional class
58.3%
Ballsbridge leads
5.6%
Unemploymentlower is better
6.5%
Ballsbridge leads
43.8%
Owner-occupier
38.8%
Ballsbridge leads
49.5%
Private rental
54.9%
3.2%
Social housing (LA)
3.3%

Liveability & safety

AREA · D04 / D06

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (BallsbridgeD04, RathminesD06); safety & crime are the DMR South Garda division — so they read identically for both towns.

65/100
Quality of Life
68/100
Rathmines leads

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (D04 / D06) 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.

BallsbridgeRathminesOverall (avg)
Safety65606860
Affordability1510
Infrastructure100100
Family3846
Education78100
Environment8074
Economic8689
020406080100020406080100
#50
National ranklower is better
#28
Rathmines leads
#13
County ranklower is better
#9
Rathmines leads
60/100
Safety
60/100
60.2
Crime / 1,000
60.2

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.

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.
Rathmines Affluent+11.2
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Rathmines West B +10 (least affluent) → Rathmines East B +14 (most affluent). Even its least-affluent neighbourhood is above 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 South), 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 330 CSO Small Areas.

Homes for sale in Rathmines

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.