Town comparison · Buncrana vs Newtowncunningham

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Buncrana or Newtowncunningham?

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.

Buncrana, Co. Donegal · F93 · 6,029 people | Newtowncunningham, Co. Donegal · F93 · 1,050 people

Buncrana is the stronger town on the data. It leads on 2 of the 7 dimensions to Newtowncunningham’s 0, with 5 level.

Buncrana leads on
schools & amenitiespublic transport
182113

Buncrana aheadlevel or not comparableNewtowncunningham ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
BuncranaNewtowncunningham
iBoth towns sit in the same Eircode area F93 — 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. 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.

Buncrana
Newtowncunningham

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.

6,029
Population
1,050

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€197k
Median sale pricelower is better
€200k
Buncrana leads
€140k – €266k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€150k – €253k
100
Sales (24m)
23
N/A
Price momentum (YoY)
N/A
5.0%
New-build share
N/A

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 · 3 sec
Schools
2 prim · 0 sec
Buncrana leads
Buncrana · 7 schools (largest first)
Scoil Mhuire Secondary School Secondary
875 pupils · 50% to 3rd-level · CATHOLICDEIS
Crana College Secondary
604 pupils · 45% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
Coláiste Eoghain Secondary
17 pupils · 55% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
Scoil Iosagain Primary
790 pupils · Catholic
St Orans N S Primary
232 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Gaelscoil Bhun Cranncha Primary
69 pupils · Inter Denominational
St. Mura's National School Primary
30 pupils · Church Of Ireland
Newtowncunningham · 2 schools (largest first)
Scoil Cholmcille Primary
210 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Moyle N S Primary
80 pupils · Presbyterian
15
Creches
2
Buncrana leads
N/A
GP practices
N/A
2
Pharmacies
0
Buncrana leads
1
Hospitals
0
Buncrana leads
10
Bus stops
8
Buncrana leads
0
Rail / Luas stops
0
7
Gyms & leisure
0
Buncrana leads
5
Parks & playgrounds
2
Buncrana leads
21
Sports pitches
6
Buncrana 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.

3
Restaurants
2
Buncrana leads
1
Cafés
1
2
Pubs & bars
2
1
Takeaways
2
Newtowncunningham leads
0
Nightclubs
0
1
Cinema & theatre
0
Buncrana leads
754
Residents per venuelower is better
150
Newtowncunningham 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.

4
Supermarkets
1
Buncrana leads
1
Convenience shops
0
Buncrana leads
0
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
0
1
Banks
0
Buncrana leads
0
Post offices
1
Newtowncunningham leads
0
Hairdressers
0
0
Dentists
0
0
Vets
0
4
Filling stations
1
Buncrana leads
2
EV charging
0
Buncrana leads
2
Library & community centre
0
Buncrana leads
431
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
350
Newtowncunningham 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.

216m · ~250 rush
Dublinlower is better
195m · ~230 rush
Newtowncunningham leads
245m · ~270 rush
Galwaylower is better
223m · ~245 rush
Newtowncunningham leads
291m · ~310 rush
Limericklower is better
269m · ~285 rush
Newtowncunningham leads
322m · ~335 rush
Waterfordlower is better
301m · ~315 rush
Newtowncunningham leads
370m · ~390 rush
Corklower is better
349m · ~370 rush
Newtowncunningham leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
-9.5
Affluence (Pobal HP)
-8.3
Newtowncunningham leads
Buncrana · 4 EDs, poorest → richest
-13Buncrana UrbanDisadvantaged
-10Buncrana RuralDisadvantaged
-9Buncrana UrbanDisadvantaged
-6Buncrana RuralBelow average
Newtowncunningham · 4 EDs, poorest → richest
-10Newtown CunninghamDisadvantaged
-10CastleforwardDisadvantaged
-10Newtown CunninghamDisadvantaged
-6CastleforwardBelow average
31.1%
Third-level educated
30.2%
Buncrana leads
29.7%
Professional class
34.6%
Newtowncunningham leads
16.9%
Unemploymentlower is better
14.1%
Newtowncunningham leads
64.7%
Owner-occupier
74.3%
Newtowncunningham leads
18.8%
Private rental
10.5%
13.2%
Social housing (LA)
9.9%

Liveability & safety

AREA · F93 / F93

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (BuncranaF93, NewtowncunninghamF93); safety & crime are the Donegal Garda division — so they read identically for both towns.

54/100
Quality of Life
54/100

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (F93 / F93) 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.

BuncranaNewtowncunninghamOverall (avg)
Safety54715471
Affordability100100
Infrastructure2222
Family8080
Education1717
Environment6969
Economic1919
020406080100020406080100
#101
National rank
#101
#3
County rank
#3
71/100
Safety
71/100
44.8
Crime / 1,000
44.8

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.

Buncrana Disadvantaged-9.5
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Buncrana Urban -13 (least affluent) → Buncrana Rural -6 (most affluent). Every neighbourhood is below the national average.
Newtowncunningham Disadvantaged-8.3
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Newtown Cunningham -10 (least affluent) → Castleforward -5 (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 (Donegal), 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 28 CSO Small Areas.

Homes for sale in Buncrana

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.