Town comparison · Dun Laoghaire vs Rathfarnham

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Dun Laoghaire or Rathfarnham?

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.

Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin City · A96 · 3,061 people | Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin City · D14 · 2,265 people

Dun Laoghaire is the stronger town on the data. It leads on 2 of the 7 dimensions to Rathfarnham’s 1, with 4 level.

Dun Laoghaire leads on
education levelssafety
Rathfarnham leads on
public transport
29815

Dun Laoghaire aheadlevel or not comparableRathfarnham ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
Dun LaoghaireRathfarnham
iDun Laoghaire sits in A96, Rathfarnham in D14. 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.
!Dun Laoghaire & Rathfarnham are city suburbs — its boundary follows the postal area (the Small Areas whose addresses carry the name), not an official settlement line, so it can run broader than the local core and the figures cover that wider postal patch.

Outlines are each town’s CSO Small Areas — the exact footprint every figure is measured over.

Dun Laoghaire
Rathfarnham

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.

3,061
Population
2,265

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€642k
Median sale pricelower is better
€705k
Dun Laoghaire leads
€490k – €855k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€570k – €890k
497
Sales (24m)
738
-11.0%
Price momentum (YoY)
+8.7%
2.4%
New-build share
11.9%

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 · 1 sec
Schools
4 prim · 2 sec
Rathfarnham leads
Dun Laoghaire · 4 schools (largest first)
Rathdown School Secondary
349 pupils · 85% to 3rd-level · CHURCH OF IRELANDFee-paying
Monkstown Eucate Together Ns Primary
427 pupils · Multi Denominational
St Josephs Primary
392 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Clochar San Dominic Primary
194 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Rathfarnham · 6 schools (largest first)
Loreto High School Secondary
645 pupils · 90% to 3rd-level · CATHOLICFee-paying
St Columba's College Secondary
351 pupils · 85% to 3rd-level · CHURCH OF IRELANDFee-paying
Scoil Mhuire Boys Primary
388 pupils · Catholic
Na Maighdine Muire Girl Primary
224 pupils · Catholic
Scoil An Maighdine Mhuire Boys Primary
201 pupils · Catholic
Whitechurch Nat School Primary
199 pupils · Church Of Ireland
13
Creches
12
Dun Laoghaire leads
4
GP practices
1
Dun Laoghaire leads
8
Pharmacies
3
Dun Laoghaire leads
2
Hospitals
0
Dun Laoghaire leads
36
Bus stops
41
Rathfarnham leads
1
Rail / Luas stops
0
Dun Laoghaire leads
11
Gyms & leisure
7
Dun Laoghaire leads
17
Parks & playgrounds
6
Dun Laoghaire leads
22
Sports pitches
41
Rathfarnham 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.

18
Restaurants
1
Dun Laoghaire leads
30
Cafés
5
Dun Laoghaire leads
7
Pubs & bars
6
Dun Laoghaire leads
14
Takeaways
3
Dun Laoghaire leads
0
Nightclubs
0
2
Cinema & theatre
1
Dun Laoghaire leads
43
Residents per venuelower is better
142
Dun Laoghaire 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.

6
Supermarkets
0
Dun Laoghaire leads
12
Convenience shops
7
Dun Laoghaire leads
5
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
1
Dun Laoghaire leads
5
Banks
3
Dun Laoghaire leads
3
Post offices
2
Dun Laoghaire leads
14
Hairdressers
3
Dun Laoghaire leads
5
Dentists
0
Dun Laoghaire leads
2
Vets
0
Dun Laoghaire leads
2
Filling stations
3
Rathfarnham leads
8
EV charging
2
Dun Laoghaire leads
7
Library & community centre
2
Dun Laoghaire leads
44
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
98
Dun Laoghaire 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.

21m · ~40 rush
Dublinlower is better
17m · ~35 rush
Rathfarnham leads
125m · ~140 rush
Waterfordlower is better
118m · ~130 rush
Rathfarnham leads
147m · ~165 rush
Limericklower is better
139m · ~155 rush
Rathfarnham leads
158m · ~180 rush
Galwaylower is better
151m · ~175 rush
Rathfarnham leads
186m · ~210 rush
Corklower is better
178m · ~200 rush
Rathfarnham leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
7.3
Affluence (Pobal HP)
7.1
Dun Laoghaire leads
Dun Laoghaire · 15 EDs, poorest → richest
+3Cabinteely-granitefieldAbove average
+4Dun Laoghaire-west CentralAbove average
+4Dun Laoghaire-west CentralAffluent
+5Dun Laoghaire-glasthuleAffluent
+5Cabinteely-granitefieldAffluent
+5Dun Laoghaire-glasthuleAffluent
+7Dun Laoghaire-glenagearyAffluent
+7Dun Laoghaire-sallynoggin WestAffluent
+8Dun Laoghaire-east CentralAffluent
+9Blackrock-carysfortAffluent
+10Blackrock-carysfortAffluent
+10Dun Laoghaire-east CentralAffluent
+10Mansion House BAffluent
+13Dun Laoghaire-glenagearyVery affluent
+17Mansion House BVery affluent
Rathfarnham · 16 EDs, poorest → richest
-7EdmondstownBelow average
-1EdmondstownBelow average
+4Rathfarnham-st. Enda'sAffluent
+5Rathfarnham-st. Enda'sAffluent
+7Ballinteer-woodparkAffluent
+7Rathfarnham-butterfieldAffluent
+8Rathfarnham-butterfieldAffluent
+9Ballinteer-woodparkAffluent
+9Foxrock-carrickminesAffluent
+10Foxrock-carrickminesAffluent
+10Templeogue-kimmage ManorAffluent
+10Churchtown-landscapeAffluent
+10Rathfarnham VillageAffluent
+10Rathfarnham VillageAffluent
+10Templeogue-kimmage ManorAffluent
+11Churchtown-landscapeAffluent
65.3%
Third-level educated
59.2%
Dun Laoghaire leads
56.6%
Professional class
61.6%
Rathfarnham leads
7.1%
Unemploymentlower is better
5.7%
Rathfarnham leads
51.9%
Owner-occupier
84.6%
Rathfarnham leads
37.0%
Private rental
12.9%
6.4%
Social housing (LA)
2.1%

Liveability & safety

AREA · A96 / D14

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (Dun LaoghaireA96, RathfarnhamD14); safety & crime are the DMR East Garda division.

66/100
Quality of Life
71/100
Rathfarnham leads

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (A96 / D14) 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.

Dun LaoghaireRathfarnhamOverall (avg)
Safety66717160
Affordability1010
Infrastructure88100
Family6275
Education7886
Environment8074
Economic7390
020406080100020406080100
#35
National ranklower is better
#10
Rathfarnham leads
#10
County ranklower is better
#2
Rathfarnham leads
71/100
Safety
60/100
Dun Laoghaire leads
41.6
Crime / 1,000lower is better
60.2
Dun Laoghaire 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.

Dun Laoghaire Affluent+7.3
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Cabinteely-granitefield +3 (least affluent) → Mansion House B +17 (most affluent). Even its least-affluent neighbourhood is above the national average.
Rathfarnham Affluent+7.1
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Edmondstown -7 (least affluent) → Churchtown-landscape +12 (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 (DMR East), 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 18 CSO Small Areas.

Homes for sale in Dun Laoghaire

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.