Rural Ireland · Census 2022

Rural Ireland's Census 2022 comeback — population, remote work and recovery

Census 2022 caught rural Ireland mid-change. It was the first post-pandemic count, the first to measure remote working at scale, and the first to show population recovery in counties that had been shrinking for decades. IrelandInsights maps every electoral division, including the most rural.

Rural Ireland in numbers — Census 2022

Rural Population

36.4%

Living in places under 1,500 · CSO, Census 2022

Leitrim Population

35,199

Smallest county · Census 2022

Remote Work Growth

+173%

People working mainly from home, 2016–2022 · CSO

Home Ownership · Roscommon

74.1%

Highest of the rural counties below · Dublin City 47.3% · State 65.9% · Census 2022

Rural population: CSO, Urban and Rural Life in Ireland 2025 (Table 2.1), Census 2022 — 1,848,589 of 5,084,879 people usually resident and present in the State live in rural areas, defined as places with fewer than 1,500 people (CSO tables URLIA01 and URLIA03). Average age: CSO table URLIA03, population-weighted by URLIA01 (mean age). Home ownership: Census 2022 households owned with a loan or mortgage plus owned outright, as a share of all permanent private households; Dublin City and Cork City are the city local-authority areas.

Remote work growth: CSO Census 2022 Profile 7 (Commuting to Work) — the number of people who work mainly at or from home rose from 94,955 in 2016 to 259,467 in 2022. This is a count of people, nationwide, not a share of workers.

What Census 2022 shows about rural demographics

Population recovery in the west: Counties like Leitrim, Roscommon, and parts of Mayo had lost population for years. Census 2022 recorded growth in some of these areas for the first time since the 1970s. Remote working is the main driver.
Home ownership dominance: Rural Ireland has some of the highest home ownership rates in the country. Leitrim (70.8%), Roscommon (74.1%) and Mayo (72.9%) have higher owner-occupancy than the State (65.9%) and far above Dublin City (47.3%) or Cork City (56.3%). This reflects both cultural preference and the lack of a private rental market at scale.
Education levels differ by county: Third-level attainment (CSO measure, Census 2022) is 44.9% nationally and 50.2% in Dublin. Mayo (39.3%), Roscommon (40.3%), Donegal (36.8%) compare with Galway (48.2%), Clare (43.8%), Kilkenny (43.8%).
Older age profile: Rural Ireland is older on average than urban Ireland: the average age is 40.5 in rural areas (places under 1,500 people) and 37.9 in urban areas, rising to 42.6 in highly rural and remote areas (CSO, Census 2022; mean age, not median).

Remote work and rural repopulation

The 2022 census was the first to capture home-based working as a major trend. The EDs with the highest remote working rates fall into two areas: south Dublin — where highly-paid professionals work from home — and the rural west, especially Leitrim, Roscommon, and west Galway.

This marks a structural shift. Towns like Carrick-on-Shannon, Boyle, and Strokestown have seen higher residential demand. Census 2022 occupancy and household formation figures reflect this change.

Agriculture and rural employment

Agriculture remains a major employer in the most rural EDs. Electoral divisions where agriculture, forestry and fishing account for the largest share of employment (the top tenth) have home ownership of 83.4%, against 54.9% in the tenth with the smallest share (State: 65.9%). Family farm succession acts as a social stabiliser in these areas.

Manufacturing is a major employer in several rural counties: Monaghan (16.8%), Cavan (16.4%), Longford (16.4%) have the highest shares of workers in manufacturing industries among the rural counties listed here, against 11.8% nationally (Census 2022).

Explore rural Ireland on the map

Every electoral division in Ireland — including the most rural — is mapped with full Census 2022 data. Hover any ED to see population, employment, home ownership, and education data.

Donegal home ownership Leitrim population Mayo employment map Education level map

Explore rural counties

Donegal Mayo Leitrim Roscommon Cavan Monaghan Longford Offaly Laois Westmeath

← Population growth · Where to live in Ireland →

Data: CSO Census 2022 · Electoral Divisions · All-Island Population Data · cso.ie/census

Explore the live map

The charts above are snapshots; the live map below is the full dataset for every county and electoral division. Hover any area for the underlying figures, switch geography levels, and compare with related metrics.

Frequently asked questions

Which county is most rural in Ireland?

Leitrim has the smallest total population of any county in Ireland (35,199 in Census 2022) and one of the lowest population densities. Roscommon, Longford, and Cavan are similarly rural. County Mayo is the largest rural county by area, with most of its population spread across small towns and townlands rather than a single large urban centre.

Did rural Ireland grow in Census 2022?

Yes — Census 2022 showed population growth in many rural counties that had been declining, including Leitrim, Roscommon, and parts of Mayo and Donegal. Remote working is the primary driver: for the first time, workers no longer need to be in a city or large town to maintain professional employment. This reversed a decades-long trend of rural depopulation in the west and northwest.