Tullow, Co. Carlow scores 56/100 for quality of life, #74 of the 108 Irish areas BuyerIQ ranks, and its fundamentals are rated “stagnating”. The median home sells for €265,000 (most €210,000–€308,370), it scores 62/100 for safety (57.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents), 4,916 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 — 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 Tullow is #66 of 108 for value for money (most quality of life per euro).
4,916 people.
47th 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.
Tullow, Co. Carlow, scores 56/100 on BuyerIQ's Quality of Life composite (cost of living excluded) — #74 of the 108 areas we rank. It's strongest on affordability and family & community.
Tullow scores 62/100 on safety, ~57.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.
The median sale price in Tullow over the last 24 months was €265,000, most between €210,000 and €308,370 (Property Price Register).
Tullow is rated "Stagnating" — unemployment fell 21% → 12% — faster than nationally, third-level education up only 4 points — behind the national rise, recorded crime rising faster than the town is growing.
About 26% of homes sold in Tullow in the last 24 months were new builds (Property Price Register).
22 planning applications were lodged within Tullow in the last 12 months, covering 30 residential units (164 on record) — measured per town, not just at county level.
Tullow scores 70/100 for families and community.
Tullow scores 42/100 for schools and education, with 4 schools in the area.
Tullow is about 70 minutes by road from Waterford.
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.