Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal scores 50/100 for quality of life, #103 of the 108 Irish areas BuyerIQ ranks, and its fundamentals are rated “stagnating”. The median home sells for €150,000 (most €99,750–€237,000), it scores 71/100 for safety (44.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents), 1,147 people live here, down 10.3% since 2016. It's strongest on affordability and family & community, weakest on schools & education.
Updated August 2026 · Property Price Register + 20+ official sources, refreshed daily
Below average today — improving in absolute terms, but falling behind the national trend.
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 Ballyshannon is #93 of 108 for value for money (most quality of life per euro).
1,147 people, down 10.3% since 2016.
Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, scores 50/100 on BuyerIQ's Quality of Life composite (cost of living excluded) — #103 of the 108 areas we rank. It's strongest on affordability and family & community.
Ballyshannon scores 71/100 on safety, ~44.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.
The median sale price in Ballyshannon over the last 24 months was €150,000, most between €99,750 and €237,000 (Property Price Register).
Ballyshannon is rated "Stagnating" — unemployment fell 20% → 14% — faster than nationally, third-level education up only 3 points — behind the national rise, population fell 10.3% since 2016.
New builds are rare in Ballyshannon — under 1% of recent sales (Property Price Register).
14 planning applications were lodged within Ballyshannon in the last 12 months, covering 7 residential units (79 on record) — measured per town, not just at county level.
Ballyshannon scores 83/100 for families and community.
Ballyshannon scores 20/100 for schools and education, with 3 schools in the area.
Ballyshannon is about 160 minutes by road from Galway.
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.