Town comparison · Donegal vs Galway city and suburbs

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Donegal or Galway city and suburbs?

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.

Donegal, Co. Donegal · F94 · 3,000 people | Galway city and suburbs, Co. Galway City · H91 · 84,998 people

Galway city and suburbs is the stronger town on the data. It leads on 5 of the 7 dimensions to Donegal’s 2.

Donegal leads on
safetyaffordability
Galway city and suburbs leads on
affluenceeducation levelsschools & amenitiespublic transportaccess to its nearest city
7837

Donegal aheadlevel or not comparableGalway city and suburbs ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
DonegalGalway city and suburbs
iDonegal sits in F94, Galway city and suburbs in H91. 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.

Donegal
Galway city and suburbs

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.

3,000
Population
84,998

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€190k
Median sale pricelower is better
€405k
Donegal leads
€125k – €270k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€326k – €489k
1,543
Sales (24m)
1,223
N/A
Price momentum (YoY)
+15.4%
5.2%
New-build share
10.0%

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.

4 prim · 1 sec
Schools
18 prim · 6 sec
Galway city and suburbs leads
Donegal · 5 schools (largest first)
Abbey Vocational School Secondary
999 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
Scoil An Linbh Íosa Primary
266 pupils · Catholic
Scoil Aodh Rua&nuala Primary
235 pupils · Catholic
Glebe Ns Primary
121 pupils · Church Of Ireland
Gaelscoil Na Gceithre Maistri Primary
54 pupils · Inter Denominational
Galway city and suburbs · 26 schools (largest first)
St Joseph's College Secondary
767 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Coláiste Mhuirlinne/merlin College Secondary
725 pupils · 45% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
Coláiste Na Coiribe Secondary
666 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALGaelscoil
Coláiste Iognáid S.j. Secondary
636 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Galway Community College Secondary
454 pupils · 40% to 3rd-level · INTER DENOMINATIONALDEIS
Galway City & Oranmore Educate Together Secondary School Secondary
350 pupils · 65% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
University Of Galway Third-level
enrolment n/a · university
Atlantic Technological University Third-level
enrolment n/a · technological_university
Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh Primary
649 pupils · CatholicGaelscoil
S N Iognaid Primary
499 pupils · Catholic
St. John The Apostle, Knocknacarra Ns Primary
397 pupils · Catholic
Merlin Woods Primary School Primary
383 pupils · Catholic
Radharc Na Mara National School Primary
351 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Tirellan Heights N S Primary
349 pupils · CatholicDEISGaelscoil
Niochlas N S Primary
271 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Scoil An Linbh Iosa Primary
261 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Scoil Mhuire Primary
241 pupils · Catholic
S N Padraic Naofa Primary
231 pupils · Catholic
Scoil Naomh Iosef Primary
206 pupils · CatholicGaelscoil
Knocknacarra Educate Together Ns Primary
205 pupils · Multi DenominationalGaelscoil
S N Bride Naofa Primary
204 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Scoil Croi Iosa Primary
136 pupils · CatholicDEIS
S N Brighde Primary
135 pupils · CatholicGaelscoil
Cuan Na Gaillimhe Community National School Primary
111 pupils · Multi DenominationalGaelscoil
Sn Colmcille Primary
82 pupils · CatholicDEISGaelscoil
Parochial N S Primary
71 pupils · Church Of Ireland
11
Creches
48
Galway city and suburbs leads
2
GP practices
17
Galway city and suburbs leads
3
Pharmacies
26
Galway city and suburbs leads
1
Hospitals
5
Galway city and suburbs leads
3
Bus stops
252
Galway city and suburbs leads
0
Rail / Luas stops
2
Galway city and suburbs leads
2
Gyms & leisure
35
Galway city and suburbs leads
2
Parks & playgrounds
55
Galway city and suburbs leads
12
Sports pitches
135
Galway city and suburbs 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.

13
Restaurants
90
Galway city and suburbs leads
4
Cafés
84
Galway city and suburbs leads
14
Pubs & bars
79
Galway city and suburbs leads
6
Takeaways
56
Galway city and suburbs leads
0
Nightclubs
2
Galway city and suburbs leads
0
Cinema & theatre
10
Galway city and suburbs leads
81
Residents per venuelower is better
265
Donegal leads

Donegal is a small town and Galway city and suburbs 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.

3
Supermarkets
19
Galway city and suburbs leads
4
Convenience shops
62
Galway city and suburbs leads
2
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
15
Galway city and suburbs leads
5
Banks
12
Galway city and suburbs leads
1
Post offices
6
Galway city and suburbs leads
4
Hairdressers
51
Galway city and suburbs leads
1
Dentists
15
Galway city and suburbs leads
2
Vets
2
4
Filling stations
8
Galway city and suburbs leads
4
EV charging
25
Galway city and suburbs leads
4
Library & community centre
15
Galway city and suburbs leads
88
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
370
Donegal 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.

177m · ~200 rush
Galwaylower is better
3m · ~5 rush
Galway city and suburbs leads
223m · ~240 rush
Limericklower is better
77m · ~95 rush
Galway city and suburbs leads
186m · ~220 rush
Dublinlower is better
147m · ~180 rush
Galway city and suburbs leads
303m · ~325 rush
Corklower is better
157m · ~180 rush
Galway city and suburbs leads
283m · ~295 rush
Waterfordlower is better
190m · ~205 rush
Galway city and suburbs leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
-4.2
Affluence (Pobal HP)
-0.3
Galway city and suburbs leads
Donegal · 2 EDs, poorest → richest
-6DonegalBelow average
-3DonegalBelow average
Galway city and suburbs · 47 EDs, poorest → richest
-9ShantallaDisadvantaged
-8NewcastleDisadvantaged
-8MervueDisadvantaged
-6BarnaBelow average
-6ShantallaBelow average
-5MervueBelow average
-5CarrowbrowneBelow average
-4BallintempleBelow average
-4BallybaanBelow average
-3St. NicholasBelow average
-3WellparkBelow average
-3RenmoreBelow average
-2DanganBelow average
-2MenloughBelow average
-2CastlegarBelow average
-1BallintempleBelow average
-1RahoonBelow average
-1BallybaanBelow average
0BarnaBelow average
0Lough AtaliaBelow average
0DanganBelow average
+0NewcastleAbove average
+1Lough AtaliaAbove average
+1CastlegarAbove average
+1MurrooghAbove average
+1WellparkAbove average
+2MenloughAbove average
+2BallybritAbove average
+2RenmoreAbove average
+2Taylors HillAbove average
+3Taylors HillAbove average
+3RahoonAbove average
+3CladdaghAbove average
+3CladdaghAbove average
+3Nuns IslandAbove average
+4St. NicholasAffluent
+5MurrooghAffluent
+5SalthillAffluent
+5RockbartonAffluent
+5Nuns IslandAffluent
+5Eyre SquareAffluent
+5SalthillAffluent
+6Eyre SquareAffluent
+6RockbartonAffluent
+6KnocknacarraghAffluent
+7BallybritAffluent
+9KnocknacarraghAffluent
36.1%
Third-level educated
46.3%
Galway city and suburbs leads
36.0%
Professional class
36.8%
Galway city and suburbs leads
10.5%
Unemploymentlower is better
11.5%
Donegal leads
70.6%
Owner-occupier
53.0%
Donegal leads
18.6%
Private rental
34.0%
9.0%
Social housing (LA)
8.6%

Liveability & safety

AREA · F94 / H91

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (Donegal → F94, Galway city and suburbs → H91); safety & crime are the Donegal Garda division.

57/100
Quality of Life
69/100
Galway city and suburbs leads

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (F94 / H91) 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.

DonegalGalway city and suburbsOverall (avg)
Safety57716961
Affordability10075
Infrastructure2281
Family8375
Education2050
Environment7488
Economic2855
020406080100020406080100
#93
National ranklower is better
#26
Galway city and suburbs leads
#2
County ranklower is better
#1
Galway city and suburbs leads
71/100
Safety
61/100
Donegal leads
44.8
Crime / 1,000lower is better
60.1
Donegal 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.

Donegal Below average-4.2
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Donegal -6 (least affluent) → Donegal -3 (most affluent). Every neighbourhood is below the national average.
Galway city and suburbs Below average-0.3
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Shantalla -9 (least affluent) → Knocknacarragh +9 (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 (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 321 CSO Small Areas.

Homes for sale in Galway city and suburbs

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.