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.
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).
3,237 people.
115th 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.
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).
6 planning applications were lodged within Rathnew in the last 12 months (64 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.