Clifden, Co. Galway scores 62/100 for quality of life, and its fundamentals are rated “stagnating”. The median home sells for €253,860 (most €192,500–€320,000), it scores 61/100 for safety (60.1 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents), 1,014 people live here. It's strongest on affordability and transport & services, 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.
1,014 people.
Vibrancy is the plain count of places to eat, drink and go out — restaurants, cafés, pubs, takeaways, nightclubs and cinemas in and around the town. Per head is the different question of whether a town is well served for its size.
Not ranked: under 2,000 residents, one pub swings the per-head figure too far to mean anything.
Clifden, Co. Galway, scores 62/100 on BuyerIQ's Quality of Life composite (cost of living excluded). It's strongest on affordability and transport & services.
Clifden scores 61/100 on safety, ~60.1 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.
The median sale price in Clifden over the last 24 months was €253,860, most between €192,500 and €320,000 (Property Price Register).
Clifden is rated "Stagnating" — unemployment fell 14% → 9%, in line with nationally, recorded crime rising faster than the town is growing.
About 1% of homes sold in Clifden in the last 24 months were new builds (Property Price Register).
7 planning applications were lodged within Clifden in the last 12 months, covering 3 residential units (54 on record) — measured per town, not just at county level.
Clifden scores 81/100 for families and community.
Clifden scores 21/100 for schools and education, with 2 schools in the area.
Clifden is about 67 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.