Town comparison · Swords vs Wexford

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Swords or Wexford?

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.

Swords, Co. Fingal · K67 · 38,308 people | Wexford, Co. Wexford · Y35 · 22,366 people

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

Swords leads on
affluenceeducation levelsaccess to its nearest city
Wexford leads on
safetyaffordability
181025

Swords aheadlevel or not comparableWexford ahead

AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
SwordsWexford
iSwords sits in K67, Wexford in Y35. 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.

Swords
Wexford

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.

38,308
Population
22,366

Prices & market

TOWN · exact
€436k
Median sale pricelower is better
€275k
Wexford leads
€361k – €495k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€200k – €350k
1,098
Sales (24m)
2,083
+6.9%
Price momentum (YoY)
+37.8%
20.2%
New-build share
12.7%

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.

12 prim · 5 sec
Schools
8 prim · 5 sec
Swords leads
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
Wexford · 13 schools (largest first)
Presentation Secondary School Secondary
981 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Loreto Secondary School Secondary
930 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
St Peter's College Secondary
784 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Christian Brothers Secondary School Secondary
721 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Selskar College (coláiste Sheilscire) Secondary
390 pupils · 40% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
Scoil Mhuire Coolcotts Primary
612 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Convent Of Mercy Primary
406 pupils · CatholicDEIS
S N Clochar Mhuire Primary
380 pupils · Catholic
Cbs Primary Wexford Primary
366 pupils · Catholic
Faythe Convent Primary
236 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Gaelscoil Loch Garman Primary
207 pupils · Catholic
Wexford Educate Together National School Primary
205 pupils · Multi Denominational
St Iberius N S Primary
79 pupils · Church Of Ireland
40
Creches
22
Swords leads
5
GP practices
12
Wexford leads
12
Pharmacies
19
Wexford leads
1
Hospitals
3
Wexford leads
125
Bus stops
94
Swords leads
0
Rail / Luas stops
1
Wexford leads
17
Gyms & leisure
25
Wexford leads
28
Parks & playgrounds
15
Swords leads
77
Sports pitches
71
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.

21
Restaurants
42
Wexford leads
17
Cafés
35
Wexford leads
18
Pubs & bars
42
Wexford leads
28
Takeaways
28
0
Nightclubs
0
1
Cinema & theatre
5
Wexford leads
451
Residents per venuelower is better
147
Wexford leads
#20 of 65 large towns
Most vibrant (national)lower is better
#7 of 65 large towns
Wexford 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.

15
Supermarkets
10
Swords leads
14
Convenience shops
19
Wexford leads
6
Bakery, butcher & greengrocer
9
Wexford leads
7
Banks
5
Swords leads
2
Post offices
1
Swords leads
22
Hairdressers
43
Wexford leads
5
Dentists
15
Wexford leads
3
Vets
3
5
Filling stations
12
Wexford leads
8
EV charging
28
Wexford leads
7
Library & community centre
11
Wexford leads
408
Residents per shop or servicelower is better
143
Wexford 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
107m · ~140 rush
Swords leads
127m · ~140 rush
Waterfordlower is better
50m · ~65 rush
Wexford leads
187m · ~210 rush
Corklower is better
147m · ~170 rush
Wexford leads
148m · ~165 rush
Limericklower is better
160m · ~180 rush
Swords leads
153m · ~175 rush
Galwaylower is better
222m · ~245 rush
Swords leads

Affluence & profile

ELECTORAL DIVISION
1.6
Affluence (Pobal HP)
-6.3
Swords leads
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
Wexford · 10 EDs, poorest → richest
-13Wexford No. 2 UrbanDisadvantaged
-6DrinaghBelow average
-6Wexford No. 1 UrbanBelow average
-5Wexford RuralBelow average
-5ArdcavanBelow average
-4DrinaghBelow average
-4Wexford No. 3 UrbanBelow average
+0ArdcavanAbove average
+0CarrickAbove average
+1CarrickAbove average
40.5%
Third-level educated
32.6%
Swords leads
39.9%
Professional class
31.8%
Swords leads
7.7%
Unemploymentlower is better
11.3%
Swords leads
72.2%
Owner-occupier
60.3%
Swords leads
21.2%
Private rental
22.1%
5.4%
Social housing (LA)
13.3%

Liveability & safety

AREA · K67 / Y35

Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (Swords → K67, Wexford → Y35); safety & crime are the DMR North Garda division.

66/100
Quality of Life
64/100
Swords leads

Quality of Life is the equal-weighted average of these seven 0–100 dimensions, scored for the whole Eircode routing area (K67 / Y35) 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.

SwordsWexfordOverall (avg)
Safety66596464
Affordability6694
Infrastructure7568
Family6770
Education5638
Environment7482
Economic6233
020406080100020406080100
#35
National ranklower is better
#58
Swords leads
#10
County ranklower is better
#1
Wexford leads
59/100
Safety
64/100
Wexford leads
61.8
Crime / 1,000lower is better
52.9
Wexford 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.

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.
Wexford Below average-6.3
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Wexford No. 2 Urban -13 (least affluent) → Carrick +1 (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 North), 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 216 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.