Ballon, Co. Carlow scores 56/100 for quality of life, #74 of the 108 Irish areas BuyerIQ ranks, and its fundamentals are rated “steady — moves with the market”. The median home sells for €300,000 (most €274,000–€362,000), it scores 62/100 for safety (57.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents), 801 people live here. It's strongest on affordability and family & community, weakest on local economy.
Updated August 2026 · Property Price Register + 20+ official sources, refreshed daily
Below average today — tracking the national trend — no strong local tailwind or headwind.
These seven scores and the 56/100 are measured across the R93 Eircode area, not Ballon alone — an area that takes in much of CARLOW. A strong or weak pocket inside it can read very differently from the area average.
Ranked on quality of life alone — cost of living excluded, so the genuinely best areas rank top even though they cost more. Factor in price and Ballon is #66 of 108 for value for money (most quality of life per euro).
The score is for the R93 Eircode area; the crime rate is recorded per Garda division (Kilkenny/Carlow). Neither is measured for Ballon on its own.
801 people.
Population is for Ballon itself (Census 2022, Small-Area boundary).
Not ranked: under 2,000 residents, one pub swings the per-head figure too far.
Census profile and the affluence rating are Electoral Division figures — the CSO/Pobal area around Ballon, which is why this unemployment rate can differ from the one behind the quality-of-life scores above (those are Eircode-area wide).
Ballon, Co. Carlow, scores 56/100 on BuyerIQ's Quality of Life composite (cost of living excluded) — #74 of the 108 areas we rank. It's strongest on affordability and family & community.
Ballon scores 62/100 on safety, ~57.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.
The median sale price in Ballon over the last 24 months was €300,000, most between €274,000 and €362,000 (Property Price Register).
Ballon is rated "Steady — moves with the market" — unemployment fell 12% → 7%, in line with nationally, third-level education up 9 points — faster than nationally, recorded crime rising faster than the town is growing.
5 planning applications were lodged within Ballon in the last 12 months, covering 2 residential units (43 on record) — measured per town, not just at county level.
Ballon scores 70/100 for families and community.
Ballon scores 42/100 for schools and education, with 1 school in the area.
Ballon is about 65 minutes by road from Waterford.
Sale prices from the Property Price Register (rolling 24 months). Quality of Life averages seven equal-weighted dimensions from 40+ metrics across 13 public datasets (CSO census + SAPS, Garda crime, SEAI, EPA, DES schools, GTFS). Population is CSO Census 2022; the “on the up” trajectory compares 2016→2022. Figures refresh daily · an area assessment, not advice on a specific property. Updated August 2026.