Carlingford, Co. Louth scores 62/100 for quality of life, #46 of the 108 Irish areas BuyerIQ ranks, and its fundamentals are rated “on the up — emerging”. The median home sells for €331,000 (most €255,000–€400,000), it scores 54/100 for safety (68 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents), 1,724 people live here, up 35.4% since 2016. It's strongest on affordability and transport & services, weakest on local economy.
Updated August 2026 · Property Price Register + 20+ official sources, refreshed daily
Below average today — but the fundamentals are turning, faster than 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 Carlingford is #31 of 108 for value for money (most quality of life per euro).
1,724 people, up 35.4% since 2016.
Carlingford, Co. Louth, scores 62/100 on BuyerIQ's Quality of Life composite (cost of living excluded) — #46 of the 108 areas we rank. It's strongest on affordability and transport & services.
Carlingford scores 54/100 on safety, ~68.0 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.
The median sale price in Carlingford over the last 24 months was €331,000, most between €255,000 and €400,000 (Property Price Register).
Carlingford is rated "On the up — emerging" — unemployment fell 14% → 10%, in line with nationally, third-level education up only 2 points — behind the national rise, population grew 35.4% — well above the national 8%, prices up 61.9%.
New builds are rare in Carlingford — under 1% of recent sales (Property Price Register).
27 planning applications were lodged within Carlingford in the last 12 months, covering 35 residential units (278 on record) — measured per town, not just at county level.
Carlingford scores 73/100 for families and community, and its population is growing (up 35.4% since 2016).
Carlingford scores 38/100 for schools and education.
Carlingford is about 82 minutes by road from Dublin.
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.