County Waterford Tops Overall Liveability Ranking
County Waterford tops the overall ranking. It is one of the sunniest counties in the country, has reasonably priced housing, is in the top 10 of most scenic counties and inhabitants have access to the facilities of Waterford City. Wexford, Donegal, Cork and Clare round out the top 5.
| Rank | County | Liveability Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterford | 74 |
| 2 | Wexford | 68 |
| 3 | Donegal | 67 |
| 4 | Cork | 63 |
| 5 | Clare | 61 |
| 6 | Galway | 60 |
| 7 | Dublin | 59 |
| 8 | Louth | 58 |
| 9 | Wicklow | 56 |
9 | Kerry | 56 |
| 11 | Mayo | 53 |
11 | Tipperary | 53 |
| 13 | Limerick | 52 |
| 14 | Kilkenny | 50 |
| 15 | Carlow | 48 |
2. County Wexford
County Wexford comes in 2nd place in the overall ranking. It tops the rankings for sunshine with an average of over 1400 hours per year. It is ranked 12th for natural amenities, mainly attributed to its long coastline, with numerous sandy beaches. It also ranks 12th for proximity to a Hub City (Waterford) and midtable for cost of housing (16th).
3. County Donegal
County Donegal ranks 3rd overall. It scores very highly for its natural amenities (in 2nd place just behind Co. Kerry) and also for cost of housing – it has the 3rd cheapest housing in the country. It is close to the facilities that Derry City has to offer and as a result ranks highly in the proximity to a city category (7th place). However, it comes near the bottom of the rankings for sunshine (23rd place).
4. County Cork
County Cork comes in 4th place in the overall rankings. The residents of County Cork have access to all the facilities of the Republic of Ireland’s second largest city. This results in a high score (2nd place) in the Proximity to City category. Its long coastline helps to move County Cork into the top 10 for natural amenities and it is a reasonably sunny county (8th place). House prices are expensive, resulting in a low ranking of 22.
5. County Clare
County Clare has an overall ranking of 5th. With its long Atlantic coastline, Clare scores highly for natural amenity (7th place) and its close proximity to Limerick City is a bonus (6th place for ‘proximity to city‘). It has reasonably priced housing (11th place) and is midtable on sunshine levels (16th).
6. County Galway
County Galway has an overall ranking of 6th place. Galway scores highly for natural amenity (5th place). It’s inhabitants have the benefits of Galway City on their doorsteps resulting in a high ‘proximity to city‘ ranking (3rd place). The relatively high cost of housing (21st place) and low sunshine levels (21st place) adversely affect Galway’s overall ranking.
7. County Dublin
County Dublin has an overall ranking of 7. It hosts the country’s capital city, resulting in a top score in the ‘proximity to city’ ranking. However, the downside is high property prices. County Dublin has the 2nd most expensive property in the country (after Co Wicklow). It is a sunny county, coming in 2nd place for sunshine. It ranks mid table (13th) for natural amenities, the positives associated with its coastline and mountains are counter balanced by a negative score for the high degree of urbanisation of the county.
8. County Louth
County Louth has an overall ranking of 8th. It ranks highly for sunshine (4th place) and with its long coastline and mountains it has a respectable natural amenity score (12th place). It is commutable to Dublin, giving it a ‘proximity to city‘ ranking of 14th. However, median house prices are high (21st place).
9. County Wicklow
County Wicklow has an overall ranking of 9th place. Wicklow ranks highly for natural amenities (3rd place), it is by far the most mountainous county in Ireland and also benefits from having a coastline. It’s a sunny county (ranking 6th for sunshine) and also scores highly for its proximity to Dublin. However, it ranks bottom for house prices, recently surpassing County Dublin for the most expensive housing in the country.
9. County Kerry
County Kerry shares 9th place with County Wicklow. It tops the ranking for natural amenities with its long rugged coastline and mountains. It has mid priced housing (14th place). It ranks in the bottom half for sunshine (18th place) and proximity to city (21st place).
11. County Mayo
County Mayo has an overall ranking of 11. Mayo’s dramatic coastline and impressive mountains means that it ranks highly for natural amenities (4th place). It also has some of the cheapest housing in Ireland (6th place). It ranks 16th for proximity to its nearest city – Galway. It scores second from bottom for sunshine (25th place).
11. County Tipperary
County Tipperary shares an overall ranking of 11 with Mayo. It is the highest ranked of the inland counties. It has reasonably priced housing (7th place) and is midtable for sunshine (12th place). Inhabitants of County Tipperary have a bit of a trek to the nearest city (ranking 13th for proximity to city). It ranks 16th for natural amenities.
13. County Limerick
County Limerick has an overall ranking of 13. Its inhabitants have all the benefits of the amenities of Limerick City (ranking 4th for proximity to a city) . It ranks 17th for sunshine, 17th for house prices and 19th for natural amenities.
14. County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny ranks 14th overall. It is one of the sunniest counties in the country (7th place). The cost of housing is quite high resulting in a low ranking (19th place). It has a low ranking for natural amenities (23rd) – due to its lack of a coastline and low percentage of the county ascribed to mountains. Residents of County Kilkenny are well connected having easy access to the cities of Waterford and Dublin (ranks 10th in proximity to city).
15. County Carlow
County Carlow has an overall ranking of 15th. It is one of the sunniest counties in the country (6th place). It is midtable with respect to house prices (12th place) and proximity to city (15th place). It ranks in the bottom half of the table (21st place) for natural amenities.
Methodology
The individual scores for natural amenity, proximity to city, sunshine and cost of housing were averaged to arrive at the overall score for each county. Each parameter was assigned equal weighting.