List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland facts for kids

Dublin, the capital of Ireland

Have you ever wondered which places in Ireland have the most people living in them? This article lists the biggest towns and cities in the Republic of Ireland, based on how many people live there.

In 2022, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) worked with other groups to create a new way to measure urban areas. They called these "Built Up Areas" (BUAs). These BUAs include a city or town and all its surrounding areas, like suburbs. This helps us get a full picture of how many people live in and around a place.

The 2022 census counted 867 Built Up Areas across Ireland. This list shows the largest ones.

Ireland's Biggest Towns and Cities

This table shows the top cities and towns in Ireland by population. The numbers come from the 2022 census. You can see how big each place is and how much it has grown since 2016.

Rank 2022	Change since 2016	Urban area	County	Population 2022	Increase since 2016
1	0	Dublin city and suburbs	County Dublin & County Meath	1,263,219	7.7%
2	0	Cork city and suburbs	County Cork	222,526	6.6%
3	0	Limerick city and suburbs	County Limerick & County Clare	102,287	8.6%
4	0	Galway city and suburbs	County Galway	85,910	7.5%
5	0	Waterford city and suburbs	County Waterford & County Kilkenny	60,079	12.3%
6	0	Drogheda	County Louth & County Meath	44,135	7.8%
7	1	Dundalk	County Louth	43,112	10.5%
8	1	Swords	County Dublin	40,776	3.9%
9	1	Navan	County Meath	33,886	12.3%
10	1	Bray	County Wicklow & County Dublin	33,512	2.8%
11	1	Ennis	County Clare	27,923	10.5%
12	1	Carlow	County Carlow & County Laois	27,351	12.7%
13	2	Kilkenny	County Kilkenny	27,184	2.5%
14	4	Naas	County Kildare	26,180	22.4%
15	1	Tralee	County Kerry	26,079	10.1%
16	1	Newbridge	County Kildare	24,366	7.1%
17	0	Balbriggan	County Dublin	24,322	12.0%
18	2	Portlaoise	County Laois	23,494	6.5%
19	0	Athlone	County Westmeath & County Roscommon	22,869	7.1%
20	0	Mullingar	County Westmeath	22,667	8.3%
21	2	Letterkenny	County Donegal	22,549	17.0%
22	3	Greystones	County Wicklow	22,009	21.3%
23	1	Wexford	County Wexford	21,524	6.6%
24	0	Sligo	County Sligo	20,608	7.3%
25	4	Celbridge	County Kildare	20,601	3.8%

See also

• List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland for the 2016 census
• List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland for the 2011 census
• List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland for the 2006 census
• List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland for the 2002 census
• List of towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland
• List of localities in Northern Ireland by population
• List of settlements on the island of Ireland by population