Town comparison · Carrickmacross vs Smithborough

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Carrickmacross or Smithborough?

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.

Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan · A81 · 5,377 people | Smithborough, Co. Monaghan · H18 · 320 people

Carrickmacross is the stronger town on the data. It leads on 5 of the 7 dimensions to Smithborough’s 1, with 1 level.

Carrickmacross leads on
affluenceeducation levelsschools & amenitiespublic transportaccess to its nearest city
Smithborough leads on
affordability
251710

Carrickmacross aheadlevel or not comparableSmithborough ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
CarrickmacrossSmithborough
iCarrickmacross sits in A81, Smithborough in H18. 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.

Carrickmacross
Smithborough

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.

5,377
Population
320

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€280k
Median sale pricelower is better
€218k
Smithborough leads
€200k – €320k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€195k – €235k
198
Sales (24m)
17
+8.1%
Price momentum (YoY)
N/A
18.7%
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.

3 prim · 3 sec
Schools
1 prim · 0 sec
Carrickmacross leads
Carrickmacross · 6 schools (largest first)
Inver College Secondary
700 pupils · 45% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
Patrician High School Secondary
413 pupils · 65% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
St Louis Secondary School Secondary
409 pupils · 65% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Bunscoil Louis Naofa Primary
267 pupils · Catholic
Scoil Rois Primary
258 pupils · Catholic
St Joseph's National School Primary
238 pupils · Catholic
Smithborough · 1 schools (largest first)
Scoil Mhuire Primary
100 pupils · Catholic
6
Creches
1
Carrickmacross leads
3
GP practices
N/A
4
Pharmacies
0
Carrickmacross leads
0
Hospitals
0
9
Bus stops
2
Carrickmacross leads
0
Rail / Luas stops
0
12
Gyms & leisure
2
Carrickmacross leads
4
Parks & playgrounds
1
Carrickmacross leads
17
Sports pitches
3
Carrickmacross 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.

2
Restaurants
0
Carrickmacross leads
5
Cafés
0
Carrickmacross leads
12
Pubs & bars
2
Carrickmacross leads
11
Takeaways
1
Carrickmacross leads
0
Nightclubs
0
0
Cinema & theatre
0
179
Residents per venuelower is better
107
Smithborough 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
0
Carrickmacross leads
5
Convenience shops
1
Carrickmacross leads
5
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
0
Carrickmacross leads
3
Banks
0
Carrickmacross leads
1
Post offices
1
14
Hairdressers
0
Carrickmacross leads
0
Dentists
0
0
Vets
0
5
Filling stations
1
Carrickmacross leads
3
EV charging
0
Carrickmacross leads
3
Library & community centre
0
Carrickmacross leads
125
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
107
Smithborough 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.

70m · ~105 rush
Dublinlower is better
110m · ~145 rush
Carrickmacross leads
178m · ~200 rush
Galwaylower is better
166m · ~190 rush
Smithborough leads
176m · ~190 rush
Waterfordlower is better
216m · ~230 rush
Carrickmacross leads
197m · ~215 rush
Limericklower is better
204m · ~220 rush
Carrickmacross leads
237m · ~260 rush
Corklower is better
266m · ~290 rush
Carrickmacross leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
-6.3
Affluence (Pobal HP)
-8
Carrickmacross leads
Carrickmacross · 6 EDs, poorest → richest
-10Carrickmacross UrbanDisadvantaged
-8Carrickmacross UrbanDisadvantaged
-6Carrickmacross RuralBelow average
-3BallymackneyBelow average
-2Carrickmacross RuralBelow average
-2BallymackneyBelow average
Smithborough · 2 EDs, poorest → richest
-9DrumsnatDisadvantaged
-7DrumsnatBelow average
31.3%
Third-level educated
26.9%
Carrickmacross leads
28.3%
Professional class
29.5%
Smithborough leads
14.0%
Unemploymentlower is better
11.0%
Smithborough leads
56.0%
Owner-occupier
70.0%
Smithborough leads
25.7%
Private rental
13.3%
13.3%
Social housing (LA)
11.5%

Liveability & safety

AREA · A81 / H18

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (CarrickmacrossA81, SmithboroughH18); safety & crime are the Cavan/Monaghan Garda division — so they read identically for both towns.

70/100
Quality of Life
72/100
Smithborough leads

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (A81 / H18) 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.

CarrickmacrossSmithboroughOverall (avg)
Safety70747274
Affordability98100
Infrastructure8988
Family8079
Education3244
Environment8282
Economic3638
020406080100020406080100
#18
National ranklower is better
#4
Smithborough leads
#2
County ranklower is better
#1
Smithborough leads
74/100
Safety
74/100
40
Crime / 1,000
40

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.

Carrickmacross Below average-6.3
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Carrickmacross Urban -10 (least affluent) → Ballymackney -2 (most affluent). Every neighbourhood is below the national average.
Smithborough Below average-8.0
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Drumsnat -9 (least affluent) → Drumsnat -7 (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 (Cavan/Monaghan), 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 24 CSO Small Areas.

Homes for sale in Carrickmacross

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.