Town comparison · Sligo vs Swords

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Sligo or Swords?

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.

Sligo, Co. Sligo · F91 · 19,522 people | Swords, Co. Fingal · K67 · 38,308 people

Swords is the stronger town on the data. It leads on 3 of the 7 dimensions to Sligo’s 2, with 2 level.

Sligo leads on
safetyaffordability
Swords leads on
affluenceeducation levelsaccess to its nearest city
23921

Sligo aheadlevel or not comparableSwords ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
SligoSwords
iSligo sits in F91, 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.

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

Sligo
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.

19,522
Population
38,308

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€250k
Median sale pricelower is better
€436k
Sligo leads
€178k – €336k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€361k – €495k
1,216
Sales (24m)
1,098
+19.9%
Price momentum (YoY)
+6.9%
13.9%
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.

9 prim · 5 sec
Schools
12 prim · 5 sec
Swords leads
Sligo · 14 schools (largest first)
Summerhill College Secondary
1,108 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Mercy College Secondary
676 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Ursuline College Secondary
632 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Sligo Grammar School Secondary
495 pupils · 85% to 3rd-level · CHURCH OF IRELANDFee-paying
Ballinode College Secondary
246 pupils · 35% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
S N Ursula Primary
444 pupils · Catholic
Our Lady Of Mercy N S Primary
437 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Carraroe N S Primary
403 pupils · Catholic
Scoil Eoin Naofa Primary
263 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Gaelscoil Chnoc Na Re Primary
211 pupils · Catholic
Carbury National School Primary
211 pupils · Church Of Ireland
St Edwards N S Primary
204 pupils · CatholicDEIS
St Brendans Ns Primary
185 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Sligo Project School Primary
47 pupils · Multi DenominationalDEIS
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
31
Creches
40
Swords leads
3
GP practices
5
Swords leads
15
Pharmacies
12
Sligo leads
5
Hospitals
1
Sligo leads
102
Bus stops
125
Swords leads
1
Rail / Luas stops
0
Sligo leads
21
Gyms & leisure
17
Sligo leads
15
Parks & playgrounds
28
Swords leads
63
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.

22
Restaurants
21
Sligo leads
21
Cafés
17
Sligo leads
39
Pubs & bars
18
Sligo leads
15
Takeaways
28
Swords leads
3
Nightclubs
0
Sligo leads
4
Cinema & theatre
1
Sligo leads
188
Residents per venuelower is better
451
Sligo leads
#13 of 65 large towns
Most vibrant (national)lower is better
#20 of 65 large towns
Sligo 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.

8
Supermarkets
15
Swords leads
21
Convenience shops
14
Sligo leads
10
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
6
Sligo leads
6
Banks
7
Swords leads
3
Post offices
2
Sligo leads
9
Hairdressers
22
Swords leads
3
Dentists
5
Swords leads
3
Vets
3
11
Filling stations
5
Sligo leads
7
EV charging
8
Swords leads
7
Library & community centre
7
222
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
408
Sligo 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.

164m · ~200 rush
Dublinlower is better
21m · ~40 rush
Swords leads
122m · ~145 rush
Galwaylower is better
153m · ~175 rush
Sligo leads
239m · ~255 rush
Waterfordlower is better
127m · ~140 rush
Swords leads
168m · ~185 rush
Limericklower is better
148m · ~165 rush
Swords leads
247m · ~270 rush
Corklower is better
187m · ~210 rush
Swords leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
-6.2
Affluence (Pobal HP)
1.6
Swords leads
Sligo · 10 EDs, poorest → richest
-13Sligo NorthDisadvantaged
-11Sligo EastDisadvantaged
-8Sligo EastBelow average
-6Sligo WestBelow average
-6Sligo NorthBelow average
-2Sligo WestBelow average
0KilmacowenBelow average
+4KnockareeAbove average
+4KilmacowenAffluent
+6KnockareeAffluent
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
37.4%
Third-level educated
40.5%
Swords leads
29.8%
Professional class
39.9%
Swords leads
15.5%
Unemploymentlower is better
7.7%
Swords leads
50.4%
Owner-occupier
72.2%
Swords leads
29.5%
Private rental
21.2%
16.1%
Social housing (LA)
5.4%

Liveability & safety

AREA · F91 / K67

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (Sligo → F91, Swords → K67); safety & crime are the Sligo/Leitrim Garda division.

71/100
Quality of Life
66/100
Sligo leads

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (F91 / 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.

SligoSwordsOverall (avg)
Safety71756659
Affordability10066
Infrastructure6975
Family7567
Education5256
Environment8274
Economic4562
020406080100020406080100
#10
National ranklower is better
#35
Sligo leads
#1
County ranklower is better
#10
Sligo leads
75/100
Safety
59/100
Sligo leads
37.3
Crime / 1,000lower is better
61.8
Sligo 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.

Sligo Below average-6.2
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Sligo North -13 (least affluent) → Knockaree +6 (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 (Sligo/Leitrim), 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 206 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.