Rathcoole, Co. Cork scores 58/100 for quality of life, #67 of the 108 Irish areas BuyerIQ ranks, and its fundamentals are rated “stagnating”. The median home sells for €250,000 (most €200,000–€295,370), it scores 56/100 for safety (67 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents), 218 people live here, down 41.2% 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
About 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 Rathcoole is #58 of 108 for value for money (most quality of life per euro).
218 people, down 41.2% since 2016.
Rathcoole, Co. Cork, scores 58/100 on BuyerIQ's Quality of Life composite (cost of living excluded) — #67 of the 108 areas we rank. It's strongest on affordability and family & community.
Rathcoole scores 56/100 on safety, ~67.0 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.
The median sale price in Rathcoole over the last 24 months was €250,000, most between €200,000 and €295,370 (Property Price Register).
Rathcoole is rated "Stagnating" — unemployment fell 9% → 5%, in line with nationally, third-level education up 12 points — faster than nationally, population fell 41.2% since 2016, recorded crime rising faster than the town is growing.
New builds are rare in Rathcoole — under 1% of recent sales (Property Price Register).
1 planning application was lodged within Rathcoole in the last 12 months (11 on record) — measured per town, not just at county level.
Rathcoole scores 82/100 for families and community.
Rathcoole scores 41/100 for schools and education, with 1 school in the area.
Rathcoole is about 56 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.