Rathnew, Co. Wicklow scores 60/100 for quality of life, #58 of the 108 Irish areas BuyerIQ ranks, and its fundamentals are rated “steady — moves with the market”. The median home sells for €369,500 (most €321,586–€405,286), it scores 70/100 for safety (43.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents), 3,237 people live here. It's strongest on environment and family & community, weakest on schools & education.
Updated August 2026 · Property Price Register + 20+ official sources, refreshed daily
About average today — tracking the national trend — no strong local tailwind or headwind.
These seven scores and the 60/100 are measured across the A67 Eircode area, not Rathnew alone — an area that takes in much of WICKLOW. 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 Rathnew is #77 of 108 for value for money (most quality of life per euro).
The score is for the A67 Eircode area; the crime rate is recorded per Garda division (Wicklow). Neither is measured for Rathnew on its own.
3,237 people.
Population is for Rathnew itself (Census 2022, Small-Area boundary).
114th 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 Rathnew, which is why this unemployment rate can differ from the one behind the quality-of-life scores above (those are Eircode-area wide).
Rathnew, Co. Wicklow, scores 60/100 on BuyerIQ's Quality of Life composite (cost of living excluded) — #58 of the 108 areas we rank. It's strongest on environment and family & community.
Rathnew scores 70/100 on safety, ~43.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.
The median sale price in Rathnew over the last 24 months was €369,500, most between €321,586 and €405,286 (Property Price Register).
Rathnew is rated "Steady — moves with the market" — unemployment fell 14% → 8%, in line with nationally.
About 77% of homes sold in Rathnew in the last 24 months were new builds (Property Price Register).
2 planning applications were lodged within Rathnew in the last 12 months (60 on record) — measured per town, not just at county level.
Rathnew scores 77/100 for families and community.
Rathnew scores 35/100 for schools and education, with 2 schools in the area.
Rathnew is about 47 minutes by road from Dublin.
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.