Town comparison · Palmerstown vs Swords

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Palmerstown or Swords?

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.

Palmerstown, Co. Dublin City · D20 · 1,807 people | Swords, Co. Fingal · K67 · 38,308 people

Swords is the stronger town on the data. It leads on 4 of the 7 dimensions to Palmerstown’s 0, with 3 level.

Swords leads on
affluenceschools & amenitiessafetyaffordability
81232

Palmerstown aheadlevel or not comparableSwords ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
PalmerstownSwords
iPalmerstown sits in D20, Swords in K67. 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.
!Palmerstown is a city suburb — 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.

Palmerstown
Swords

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.

1,807
Population
38,308

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€460k
Median sale pricelower is better
€436k
Swords leads
€395k – €519k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€361k – €495k
190
Sales (24m)
1,098
+0.5%
Price momentum (YoY)
+6.9%
0.5%
New-build share
20.2%

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 · 3 sec
Schools
12 prim · 5 sec
Swords leads
Palmerstown · 7 schools (largest first)
Phobailscoil Iosolde Secondary
773 pupils · 45% to 3rd-level · INTER DENOMINATIONALDEIS
The Kings Hospital Secondary
703 pupils · 90% to 3rd-level · CHURCH OF IRELANDFee-paying
Coláiste Cois Life Secondary
620 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
Gaelscoil Eiscir Riada Primary
381 pupils · Catholic
St Louise De Marillac Primary School Primary
249 pupils · CatholicDEIS
S N Banrion Na Naingeal 1 Primary
171 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Bainrion Na Naingal 2 Primary
112 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Swords · 17 schools (largest first)
Swords Community College Secondary
930 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
Fingal Community College Secondary
866 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · INTER DENOMINATIONAL
St Finians Community College Secondary
661 pupils · 45% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
Loreto College Secondary
632 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Coláiste Choilm Secondary
425 pupils · 65% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Holy Family Senior N S Primary
627 pupils · Catholic
Holy Family Junior N S Primary
581 pupils · Catholic
Brackenstown Senior N S Primary
569 pupils · Catholic
St Cronans Junior National School Primary
499 pupils · Catholic
Gaelscoil Bhrian Bóroimhe Primary
444 pupils · Inter Denominational
Swords Educate Together Ns Primary
405 pupils · Multi Denominational
S N Cholmcille C Primary
371 pupils · Catholic
S N Cholmille B Primary
335 pupils · Catholic
Thornleigh Educate Together National School Primary
299 pupils · Multi DenominationalDEIS
River Valley Cns Primary
140 pupils · Multi Denominational
Swords Borough N S Primary
90 pupils · Church Of Ireland
Broadmeadow Community National School Primary
71 pupils · Multi Denominational
12
Creches
40
Swords leads
6
GP practices
5
Palmerstown leads
5
Pharmacies
12
Swords leads
1
Hospitals
1
55
Bus stops
125
Swords leads
0
Rail / Luas stops
0
8
Gyms & leisure
17
Swords leads
3
Parks & playgrounds
28
Swords leads
15
Sports pitches
77
Swords 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.

5
Restaurants
21
Swords leads
7
Cafés
17
Swords leads
4
Pubs & bars
18
Swords leads
11
Takeaways
28
Swords leads
0
Nightclubs
0
0
Cinema & theatre
1
Swords leads
67
Residents per venuelower is better
451
Palmerstown 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.

7
Supermarkets
15
Swords leads
9
Convenience shops
14
Swords leads
4
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
6
Swords leads
2
Banks
7
Swords leads
2
Post offices
2
11
Hairdressers
22
Swords leads
0
Dentists
5
Swords leads
1
Vets
3
Swords leads
4
Filling stations
5
Swords leads
2
EV charging
8
Swords leads
5
Library & community centre
7
Swords leads
38
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
408
Palmerstown 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.

13m · ~25 rush
Dublinlower is better
21m · ~40 rush
Palmerstown leads
112m · ~125 rush
Waterfordlower is better
127m · ~140 rush
Palmerstown leads
134m · ~150 rush
Limericklower is better
148m · ~165 rush
Palmerstown leads
139m · ~165 rush
Galwaylower is better
153m · ~175 rush
Palmerstown leads
173m · ~195 rush
Corklower is better
187m · ~210 rush
Palmerstown leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
-2.3
Affluence (Pobal HP)
1.6
Swords leads
Palmerstown · 12 EDs, poorest → richest
-14Clondalkin-dunawleyDisadvantaged
-13Clondalkin-dunawleyDisadvantaged
-11Palmerston WestDisadvantaged
-10Palmerston WestDisadvantaged
-6Palmerston VillageBelow average
-2Palmerston VillageBelow average
0Cabra East CBelow average
+2Lucan-eskerAbove average
+3Cabra East CAbove average
+4Lucan-eskerAffluent
+12Rathmines West CAffluent
+13Rathmines West CVery affluent
Swords · 10 EDs, poorest → richest
-4Swords-glasmoreBelow average
-2Swords-glasmoreBelow average
-1Swords VillageBelow average
-1Swords VillageBelow average
+1Swords-lissenhallAbove average
+2Swords-lissenhallAbove average
+4Swords-forrestAbove average
+4Swords-forrestAbove average
+5Swords-seatownAffluent
+5Swords-seatownAffluent
40.5%
Third-level educated
40.5%
36.4%
Professional class
39.9%
Swords leads
10.7%
Unemploymentlower is better
7.7%
Swords leads
63.8%
Owner-occupier
72.2%
Swords leads
24.8%
Private rental
21.2%
8.9%
Social housing (LA)
5.4%

Liveability & safety

AREA · D20 / K67

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (Palmerstown → D20, Swords → K67); safety & crime are the DMR West Garda division.

65/100
Quality of Life
66/100
Swords leads

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (D20 / K67) 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.

PalmerstownSwordsOverall (avg)
Safety65486659
Affordability6266
Infrastructure10075
Family6267
Education6156
Environment8474
Economic3962
020406080100020406080100
#50
National ranklower is better
#35
Swords leads
#13
County ranklower is better
#10
Swords leads
48/100
Safety
59/100
Swords leads
79.6
Crime / 1,000lower is better
61.8
Swords 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.

Palmerstown Below average-2.3
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Clondalkin-dunawley -14 (least affluent) → Rathmines West C +13 (most affluent). It straddles the national average.
Swords Above average+1.6
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Swords-glasmore -4 (least affluent) → Swords-seatown +6 (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 West), 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 131 CSO Small Areas.

Homes for sale in Swords

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.