Clonakilty, Co. Cork scores 68/100 for quality of life, #23 of the 108 Irish areas BuyerIQ ranks, and its fundamentals are rated “stagnating”. The median home sells for €348,017 (most €295,154–€471,250), it scores 89/100 for safety (17.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents), 4,933 people live here. It's strongest on safety and family & community, weakest on transport & services.
Updated August 2026 · Property Price Register + 20+ official sources, refreshed daily
About average today — improving in absolute terms, but falling behind the national trend.
These seven scores and the 68/100 are measured across the P85 Eircode area, not Clonakilty alone — an area that takes in much of CORK. 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 Clonakilty is #18 of 108 for value for money (most quality of life per euro).
The score is for the P85 Eircode area; the crime rate is recorded per Garda division (Cork West). Neither is measured for Clonakilty on its own.
4,933 people.
Population is for Clonakilty itself (Census 2022, Small-Area boundary).
22nd most vibrant small town in Ireland, of 131 ranked.
Ranked against small towns only; tourist towns read high.
Census profile and the affluence rating are Electoral Division figures — the CSO/Pobal area around Clonakilty, which is why this unemployment rate can differ from the one behind the quality-of-life scores above (those are Eircode-area wide).
Clonakilty, Co. Cork, scores 68/100 on BuyerIQ's Quality of Life composite (cost of living excluded) — #23 of the 108 areas we rank. It's strongest on safety and family & community.
Clonakilty scores 89/100 on safety, ~17.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.
The median sale price in Clonakilty over the last 24 months was €348,017, most between €295,154 and €471,250 (Property Price Register).
Clonakilty is rated "Stagnating" — unemployment fell 12% → 8%, in line with nationally, recorded crime rising faster than the town is growing.
About 36% of homes sold in Clonakilty in the last 24 months were new builds (Property Price Register).
60 planning applications were lodged within Clonakilty in the last 12 months, covering 280 residential units (251 on record) — measured per town, not just at county level.
Clonakilty scores 84/100 for families and community.
Clonakilty scores 58/100 for schools and education, with 6 schools in the area.
Clonakilty is about 51 minutes by road from Cork.
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.