Town comparison · Dundalk vs Kildare

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Dundalk or Kildare?

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.

Dundalk, Co. Louth · A91 · 25,188 people | Kildare, Co. Kildare · R51 · 9,057 people

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

Dundalk leads on
education levelsschools & amenitiespublic transportaffordability
Kildare leads on
safetyaccess to its nearest city
34108

Dundalk aheadlevel or not comparableKildare ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
DundalkKildare
iDundalk sits in A91, Kildare in R51. 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.

Dundalk
Kildare

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.

25,188
Population
9,057

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€302k
Median sale pricelower is better
€400k
Dundalk leads
€225k – €366k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€326k – €480k
1,237
Sales (24m)
2,387
+4.7%
Price momentum (YoY)
+2.8%
29.3%
New-build share
18.1%

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.

18 prim · 8 sec
Schools
3 prim · 1 sec
Dundalk leads
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
Kildare · 4 schools (largest first)
Kildare Town Community School Secondary
1,021 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
St Brigid's Kildare Town Primary School Primary
1,012 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Kildare Town Educate Together Ns Primary
420 pupils · Multi Denominational
Gaelscoil Mhic Aodha Primary
215 pupils · Multi Denominational
35
Creches
7
Dundalk leads
4
GP practices
N/A
19
Pharmacies
5
Dundalk leads
1
Hospitals
0
Dundalk leads
129
Bus stops
13
Dundalk leads
1
Rail / Luas stops
1
24
Gyms & leisure
5
Dundalk leads
15
Parks & playgrounds
3
Dundalk leads
108
Sports pitches
15
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.

34
Restaurants
10
Dundalk leads
20
Cafés
8
Dundalk leads
43
Pubs & bars
10
Dundalk leads
24
Takeaways
6
Dundalk leads
1
Nightclubs
0
Dundalk leads
4
Cinema & theatre
0
Dundalk leads
200
Residents per venuelower is better
266
Dundalk leads

Dundalk is a large town and Kildare is a small 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.

11
Supermarkets
3
Dundalk leads
39
Convenience shops
4
Dundalk leads
16
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
2
Dundalk leads
4
Banks
2
Dundalk leads
4
Post offices
1
Dundalk leads
18
Hairdressers
6
Dundalk leads
2
Dentists
0
Dundalk leads
4
Vets
1
Dundalk leads
16
Filling stations
3
Dundalk leads
10
EV charging
5
Dundalk leads
5
Library & community centre
1
Dundalk leads
195
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
323
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.

65m · ~100 rush
Dublinlower is better
49m · ~85 rush
Kildare leads
171m · ~185 rush
Waterfordlower is better
94m · ~110 rush
Kildare leads
193m · ~210 rush
Limericklower is better
99m · ~115 rush
Kildare leads
189m · ~215 rush
Galwaylower is better
137m · ~160 rush
Kildare leads
232m · ~255 rush
Corklower is better
138m · ~160 rush
Kildare leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
-5.6
Affluence (Pobal HP)
-5.9
Dundalk leads
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
Kildare · 2 EDs, poorest → richest
-7KildareBelow average
-4KildareBelow average
38.3%
Third-level educated
30.0%
Dundalk leads
32.6%
Professional class
29.5%
Dundalk leads
13.1%
Unemployment
13.1%
62.9%
Owner-occupier
64.1%
Kildare leads
21.7%
Private rental
19.0%
10.6%
Social housing (LA)
12.7%

Liveability & safety

AREA · A91 / R51

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (DundalkA91, KildareR51); safety & crime are the Louth Garda division.

67/100
Quality of Life
57/100
Dundalk leads

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (A91 / R51) 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.

DundalkKildareOverall (avg)
Safety67545763
Affordability9476
Infrastructure9344
Family7374
Education3836
Environment8265
Economic3239
020406080100020406080100
#31
National ranklower is better
#93
Dundalk leads
#1
County ranklower is better
#5
Dundalk leads
54/100
Safety
63/100
Kildare leads
68
Crime / 1,000lower is better
55.1
Kildare 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.

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.
Kildare Below average-5.9
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Kildare -7 (least affluent) → Kildare -4 (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 (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 178 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.