Town comparison · Cavan vs Dundalk

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Cavan or Dundalk?

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.

Cavan, Co. Cavan · H12 · 8,695 people | Dundalk, Co. Louth · A91 · 25,188 people

Dundalk is the stronger town on the data. It leads on 3 of the 7 dimensions to Cavan’s 2, with 2 level.

Cavan leads on
safetyaffordability
Dundalk leads on
affluenceeducation levelsaccess to its nearest city
121129

Cavan aheadlevel or not comparableDundalk ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
CavanDundalk
iCavan sits in H12, Dundalk in A91. 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.

Cavan
Dundalk

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.

8,695
Population
25,188

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€236k
Median sale pricelower is better
€300k
Cavan leads
€164k – €315k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€225k – €369k
1,075
Sales (24m)
1,245
+25.0%
Price momentum (YoY)
+6.7%
4.9%
New-build share
29.0%

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.

7 prim · 4 sec
Schools
18 prim · 8 sec
Dundalk leads
Cavan · 11 schools (largest first)
Breifne College Secondary
893 pupils · 50% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
St Patrick's College Secondary
809 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Loreto College Secondary
689 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Royal School Cavan Secondary
354 pupils · 65% to 3rd-level · CHURCH OF IRELAND
St Clares Primary School Primary
550 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Sn Naomh Feidhlim Boys Snr Sch Primary
276 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Dromaili S N Primary
217 pupils · Catholic
Gaelscoil Bhreifne Primary
201 pupils · Multi DenominationalDEIS
Cavan 1 N S Primary
62 pupils · Church Of Ireland
S N Corr Lorgan Primary
57 pupils · Catholic
S N Drom Cnamh Primary
45 pupils · Catholic
Dundalk · 27 schools (largest first)
St Vincent's Secondary School Secondary
927 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
St Mary's College Secondary
905 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Coláiste Chú Chulainn Secondary
897 pupils · 50% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
De La Salle College Secondary
760 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Colaiste Rís Secondary
622 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Dundalk Grammar School Secondary
590 pupils · 90% to 3rd-level · CHURCH OF IRELANDFee-paying
St Louis Secondary School Secondary
498 pupils · 40% to 3rd-level · CATHOLICDEIS
Ó Fiaich College Secondary
312 pupils · 40% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
Dundalk Institute Of Technology Third-level
enrolment n/a · college
Scoil Mhuire Na Ngael Primary
626 pupils · Catholic
St Josephs N S Primary
569 pupils · CatholicDEIS
C.b.s. Primary Primary
493 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Scoil Na Gcreagacha Dubha Primary
474 pupils · Catholic
Réalt Na Mara School Primary
455 pupils · Catholic
St. Francis National School Primary
433 pupils · Catholic
S N N Maolmhaodhagh B Primary
232 pupils · Catholic
Scoil Fhursa Primary
231 pupils · Catholic
S N N Maolmhaodhagh C Primary
230 pupils · Catholic
Gaelscoil Dhun Dealgan Primary
216 pupils · CatholicDEIS
S N N Maolmhaodhagh N Primary
215 pupils · Catholic
Castletown Rd Convent Primary
185 pupils · CatholicDEIS
S N An Tslanaitheora B Primary
166 pupils · CatholicDEIS
S N San Nioclas Primary
161 pupils · Church Of IrelandDEIS
St Nicholas Monastery Ns Primary
160 pupils · CatholicDEIS
S.n Eoin Baiste Primary
159 pupils · CatholicDEIS
S N An Tslanaitheora C Primary
158 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Dun Dealgan N S Primary
84 pupils · Presbyterian
15
Creches
35
Dundalk leads
4
GP practices
4
10
Pharmacies
19
Dundalk leads
5
Hospitals
1
Cavan leads
64
Bus stops
129
Dundalk leads
0
Rail / Luas stops
1
Dundalk leads
20
Gyms & leisure
24
Dundalk leads
14
Parks & playgrounds
15
Dundalk leads
53
Sports pitches
108
Dundalk 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.

16
Restaurants
34
Dundalk leads
14
Cafés
20
Dundalk leads
25
Pubs & bars
43
Dundalk leads
10
Takeaways
24
Dundalk leads
1
Nightclubs
1
1
Cinema & theatre
4
Dundalk leads
130
Residents per venuelower is better
200
Cavan leads

Cavan is a small town and Dundalk is a large town, so their national rankings aren’t like-for-like — each is ranked only against places of its own size. Compare them on the residents-per-venue row instead.

Day-to-day

TOWN · counts

The errands you run without thinking about them. Same caveat — read the residents-per-service row alongside the counts.

12
Supermarkets
11
Cavan leads
14
Convenience shops
39
Dundalk leads
7
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
16
Dundalk leads
4
Banks
4
1
Post offices
4
Dundalk leads
27
Hairdressers
18
Cavan leads
7
Dentists
2
Cavan leads
1
Vets
4
Dundalk leads
7
Filling stations
16
Dundalk leads
6
EV charging
10
Dundalk leads
11
Library & community centre
5
Cavan leads
90
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
195
Cavan 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.

98m · ~135 rush
Dublinlower is better
65m · ~100 rush
Dundalk leads
137m · ~160 rush
Galwaylower is better
189m · ~215 rush
Cavan leads
194m · ~210 rush
Waterfordlower is better
171m · ~185 rush
Dundalk leads
175m · ~195 rush
Limericklower is better
193m · ~210 rush
Cavan leads
238m · ~260 rush
Corklower is better
232m · ~255 rush
Dundalk leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
-10
Affluence (Pobal HP)
-5.6
Dundalk leads
Cavan · 6 EDs, poorest → richest
-19Cavan UrbanVery disadvantaged
-17Cavan UrbanVery disadvantaged
-5MoynehallBelow average
-3Cavan RuralBelow average
-2Cavan RuralBelow average
-2MoynehallBelow average
Dundalk · 6 EDs, poorest → richest
-14Dundalk No. 2 UrbanDisadvantaged
-13Dundalk No. 1 UrbanDisadvantaged
-8Dundalk Rural (north)Disadvantaged
-7Dundalk No. 4 UrbanBelow average
-5Dundalk No. 3 UrbanBelow average
+4HaggardstownAbove average
31.4%
Third-level educated
38.3%
Dundalk leads
26.4%
Professional class
32.6%
Dundalk leads
20.2%
Unemploymentlower is better
13.1%
Dundalk leads
48.8%
Owner-occupier
62.9%
Dundalk leads
30.9%
Private rental
21.7%
18.2%
Social housing (LA)
10.6%

Liveability & safety

AREA · H12 / A91

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (Cavan → H12, Dundalk → A91); safety & crime are the Cavan/Monaghan Garda division.

62/100
Quality of Life
67/100
Dundalk leads

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (H12 / A91) 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.

CavanDundalkOverall (avg)
Safety62746754
Affordability10094
Infrastructure2493
Family8273
Education4238
Environment7682
Economic3432
020406080100020406080100
#66
National ranklower is better
#31
Dundalk leads
#1
County rank
#1
74/100
Safety
54/100
Cavan leads
40
Crime / 1,000lower is better
68
Cavan leads

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.

Cavan Disadvantaged-10.0
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Cavan Urban -19 (least affluent) → Moynehall -2 (most affluent). Every neighbourhood is below the national average.
Dundalk Below average-5.6
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Dundalk No. 2 Urban -14 (least affluent) → Haggardstown +4 (most affluent). It straddles 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 182 CSO Small Areas.

Homes for sale in Dundalk

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.