Town comparison · Drogheda vs Dundalk

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Drogheda or Dundalk?

Both towns measured at town level, not the wider Eircode area, on the same 53 figures: prices, schools, amenities, social life, commute, affluence and safety.

Drogheda, Co. Louth · A92 · 41,452 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 Drogheda’s 1, with 3 level.

Drogheda leads on
access to its nearest city
Dundalk leads on
affluenceeducation levelsaffordability
81629

Drogheda aheadlevel or not comparableDundalk ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
DroghedaDundalk
iDrogheda sits in A92, 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.

Drogheda
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.

41,452
Population
25,188

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€335k
Median sale pricelower is better
€300k
Dundalk leads
€280k – €370k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€225k – €361k
1,555
Sales (24m)
1,233
N/A
Price momentum (YoY)
+12.2%
53.1%
New-build share
29.3%

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.

13 prim · 8 sec
Schools
18 prim · 8 sec
Dundalk leads
Drogheda · 21 schools (largest first)
St Oliver's Community College Secondary
1,517 pupils · 50% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
St. Joseph's C.b.s. Secondary
1,057 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Ballymakenny College Secondary
1,003 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
Our Lady's College Secondary
973 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
St Mary's Diocesan School Secondary
915 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Sacred Heart Secondary School Secondary
706 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Drogheda Grammar School Secondary
553 pupils · 90% to 3rd-level · QUAKERFee-paying
Laytown & Drogheda Educate Together Secondary School Secondary
496 pupils · 65% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
St Marys Parish Primary School Primary
972 pupils · Catholic
St Brigid's And St Patrick's National School Primary
573 pupils · CatholicDEIS
St Pauls Senior Ns Primary
471 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Rathmullan N S Primary
412 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Le Cheile Educate Together Ns Primary
390 pupils · Multi Denominational
Aston Village Educate Together National School Primary
373 pupils · Multi Denominational
Scoil Oilibhéir Naofa Primary
366 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Presentation Convent Primary
350 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Scoil Na Mbraithre Sn Primary
345 pupils · CatholicDEIS
S N Ard Mhuire C Primary
313 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Naomh Seosamh Primary
295 pupils · Catholic
S N Aonghusa Primary
162 pupils · Catholic
S N Naomh Peadar Primary
92 pupils · Church Of Ireland
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
33
Creches
35
Dundalk leads
4
GP practices
4
9
Pharmacies
19
Dundalk leads
3
Hospitals
1
Drogheda leads
100
Bus stops
129
Dundalk leads
1
Rail / Luas stops
1
20
Gyms & leisure
24
Dundalk leads
6
Parks & playgrounds
15
Dundalk leads
64
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.

20
Restaurants
34
Dundalk leads
12
Cafés
20
Dundalk leads
30
Pubs & bars
43
Dundalk leads
16
Takeaways
24
Dundalk leads
1
Nightclubs
1
2
Cinema & theatre
4
Dundalk leads
512
Residents per venuelower is better
200
Dundalk leads
#21 of 65 large towns
Most vibrant (national)lower is better
#9 of 65 large towns
Dundalk 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.

12
Supermarkets
11
Drogheda leads
19
Convenience shops
39
Dundalk leads
4
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
16
Dundalk leads
3
Banks
4
Dundalk leads
2
Post offices
4
Dundalk leads
12
Hairdressers
18
Dundalk leads
2
Dentists
2
2
Vets
4
Dundalk leads
10
Filling stations
16
Dundalk leads
7
EV charging
10
Dundalk leads
3
Library & community centre
5
Dundalk leads
545
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
195
Dundalk 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.

42m · ~75 rush
Dublinlower is better
65m · ~100 rush
Drogheda leads
148m · ~160 rush
Waterfordlower is better
171m · ~185 rush
Drogheda leads
169m · ~185 rush
Limericklower is better
193m · ~210 rush
Drogheda leads
174m · ~200 rush
Galwaylower is better
189m · ~215 rush
Drogheda leads
208m · ~230 rush
Corklower is better
232m · ~255 rush
Drogheda leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
-8
Affluence (Pobal HP)
-5.6
Dundalk leads
Drogheda · 9 EDs, poorest → richest
-13West GateDisadvantaged
-12West GateDisadvantaged
-12Fair GateDisadvantaged
-9Fair GateDisadvantaged
-4St. Lawrence GateBelow average
-4St. Mary'sBelow average
-4St. Mary's (part)Below average
-3St. Mary'sBelow average
-2St. Peter'sBelow 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
29.9%
Third-level educated
38.3%
Dundalk leads
29.7%
Professional class
32.6%
Dundalk leads
14.3%
Unemploymentlower is better
13.1%
Dundalk leads
67.1%
Owner-occupier
62.9%
Drogheda leads
19.6%
Private rental
21.7%
9.9%
Social housing (LA)
10.6%

Liveability & safety

AREA · A92 / A91

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (DroghedaA92, DundalkA91); safety & crime are the Louth Garda division — so they read identically for both towns.

67/100
Quality of Life
67/100

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (A92 / 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.

DroghedaDundalkOverall (avg)
Safety67546754
Affordability8894
Infrastructure9393
Family7373
Education4838
Environment7482
Economic3632
020406080100020406080100
#31
National rank
#31
#1
County rank
#1
54/100
Safety
54/100
68
Crime / 1,000
68

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.

Drogheda Below average-8.0
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: West Gate -13 (least affluent) → St. Peter's -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 (Louth), 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 294 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.