Rathdowney, Co. Laois scores 53/100 for quality of life, #91 of the 108 Irish areas BuyerIQ ranks, and its fundamentals are rated “steady — moves with the market”. The median home sells for €180,000 (most €123,500–€240,000), it scores 40/100 for safety (90.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents), 1,368 people live here. It's strongest on affordability and family & community, weakest on local economy.
Updated August 2026 · Property Price Register + 20+ official sources, refreshed daily
Below average today — tracking the national trend — no strong local tailwind or headwind.
These seven scores and the 53/100 are measured across the R32 Eircode area, not Rathdowney alone — an area that takes in much of LAOIS. 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 Rathdowney is #85 of 108 for value for money (most quality of life per euro).
The score is for the R32 Eircode area; the crime rate is recorded per Garda division (Laois/Offaly). Neither is measured for Rathdowney on its own.
1,368 people.
Population is for Rathdowney itself (Census 2022, Small-Area boundary).
Not ranked: under 2,000 residents, one pub swings the per-head figure too far.
Census profile and the affluence rating are Electoral Division figures — the CSO/Pobal area around Rathdowney, which is why this unemployment rate can differ from the one behind the quality-of-life scores above (those are Eircode-area wide).
Rathdowney, Co. Laois, scores 53/100 on BuyerIQ's Quality of Life composite (cost of living excluded) — #91 of the 108 areas we rank. It's strongest on affordability and family & community.
Rathdowney scores 40/100 on safety, ~90.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.
The median sale price in Rathdowney over the last 24 months was €180,000, with most sales between €123,500 and €240,000 (Property Price Register, rolling 24 months).
The median sale price in Rathdowney over the last 24 months was €180,000, most between €123,500 and €240,000 (Property Price Register).
Rathdowney is rated "Steady — moves with the market" — unemployment fell 20% → 10% — faster than nationally, recorded crime rising faster than the town is growing.
New builds are rare in Rathdowney — under 1% of recent sales (Property Price Register).
12 planning applications were lodged within Rathdowney in the last 12 months, covering 2 residential units (74 on record) — measured per town, not just at county level.
Rathdowney scores 78/100 for families and community.
Rathdowney scores 44/100 for schools and education, with 2 schools in the area.
Rathdowney is about 67 minutes by road from Limerick.
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.