Loughrea, Co. Galway 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 €323,500 (most €250,000–€387,250), it scores 61/100 for safety (60.1 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents), 5,629 people live here. It's strongest on affordability and environment, weakest on transport & services.
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 Loughrea is #35 of 108 for value for money (most quality of life per euro).
5,629 people.
41st most vibrant small town in Ireland, of 131 ranked.
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.
Ranked against small towns only. Tourist towns read high — the venues are real, but not all of them are there for the people who live here.
Loughrea, Co. Galway, 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 environment.
Loughrea scores 61/100 on safety, ~60.1 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.
The median sale price in Loughrea over the last 24 months was €323,500, most between €250,000 and €387,250 (Property Price Register).
Loughrea is rated "On the up — emerging" — unemployment fell 17% → 9% — faster than nationally.
About 11% of homes sold in Loughrea in the last 24 months were new builds (Property Price Register).
32 planning applications were lodged within Loughrea in the last 12 months, covering 157 residential units (228 on record) — measured per town, not just at county level.
Loughrea scores 80/100 for families and community.
Loughrea scores 51/100 for schools and education, with 5 schools in the area.
Loughrea is about 33 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.