Urban and Rural Life in Ireland, 2025

More than four in five private permanent households in rural areas live in detached houses

The most common dwelling type for private households in permanent housing units in 2022 were detached houses, and this was especially pronounced in rural areas. Detached houses accounted for 41.2% of households nationally, while in rural areas this proportion was 85%. The smallest proportion of detached houses was 10.5% in Cities, where terraced houses accounted for 33% of all dwellings, and semi-detached houses accounted for 30.3% (see Table 5.1).

Nearly seven in ten flats/apartments (68.4%) were in Cities in 2022, with just 4.5% in rural areas.

Based on stated year built, houses in rural areas were more likely to be older, 13% of households in Highly rural/remote areas and 12.4% of households in Rural areas with moderate urban influence lived in dwellings built before 1919. By contrast, 3.4% of households in Satellite urban towns were built before 1919 and 43.8% since 2001.

One in four households in Cities lived in privately rented accommodation

Households in rural areas are more likely to own their dwelling outright, i.e., with no mortgage. Owner occupiers accounted for 37.0% of private households in the State. This proportion was highest in Highly rural/remote areas at 53.0%, followed by Rural areas with moderate urban influence at 50.7%, and Rural areas with high urban influence at 47.2%.

Satellite urban areas had the highest percentage of owner occupiers with a mortgage or loan at 39.3%, followed by Rural areas with high urban influence at 35.9%. The smallest proportion of owner occupier households with a mortgage or loan was 22.3% in ‘Highly rural/remote areas’.

One in four households in Cities (25.4%) and 23.3% in Independent urban towns rented privately from a landlord, the highest proportions for this type of occupancy. Households in these area types were also most likely to be renting from their local authority, at 13.3% for Independent urban towns, and 10.4% for Cities.

Two in ten households in Highly rural/remote areas had no internet access

Internet access was available to 83.4% of households in 2022 but this proportion varied across the country. Satellite urban towns had the highest percentage at 88.8%, while the lowest was 77.7% in Highly rural/remote areas.

Increase in new dwellings but strongest growth in urban areas

Census data provides a snapshot of the current housing stock in Ireland. However, it is also interesting to look at the growth of the housing stock, using the  series from the CSO, which is available since 2011.

There were 36,284 new domestic dwellings built in the State in 2025, over five times more than the 6,994 built in 2011. The strongest growth was in Cities with 12,722 new dwellings in 2025, compared to the 2011 figure of 535.

In 2011, 65% of the new dwellings built were in rural areas, but by 2025 this pattern had reversed, with just under 65% of new dwellings were built in urban areas.

Dwellings built as part of schemes dominate in urban areas

Between 2011 and 2025, 261,479 domestic dwellings were built. Of these, 132,387 were built as part of a scheme, 66,811 were single dwellings and 62,281 were apartments.

Of all the dwellings built in a scheme, the largest proportion among the six area types was in Satellite urban towns at 29.1%, while the largest share of all the single builds was 39.0% in Rural areas with high urban influence. The vast majority (77.4%) of all apartments were built in Cities.

There were 36,284 new domestic dwellings built in 2025, with 18,308 in schemes, 5,929 single dwellings and 12,047 apartments. The largest proportion of schemes built in 2025 were in Independent urban towns, where they accounted for 75.9% of all new builds, compared to 30.5% in Highly rural/remote areas.

Single units accounted for 62.4% of new builds in Highly rural/remote areas in contrast to 2.8% in Cities, see Figure 5.4.

NUTS3 Region of Dublin accounted for 78.9% of all new dwellings in Cities

Of the 36,284 new dwellings completed in 2025, the NUTS3 region Dublin accounted for 78.9% of all new dwellings in Cities, while the Mid-East accounted for 48.1% of new dwellings in Satellite urban towns (see Figure 5.5).

From 2019 to 2024, rural areas experienced the largest growth in residential property prices

The regional pattern of residential property prices in recent years can also be examined for the years 2019 to 2024.

The median price for residential property was €357,499 in 2024, with the highest prices in Cities at €435,000, followed by €395,000 in Rural areas with high urban influence.

The lowest median price was €210,000 in Highly rural/remote areas, followed by €257,000 in Independent urban towns, (see Table 5.7).

Comparing 2024 to 2019, residential property prices increased the most in Rural areas with moderate urban influence (64.8%), followed by Highly rural/remote areas (55.6%), compared to the State figure of 37.5% for the same period.

It should be noted that median prices are not appropriate for measuring the evolution of property prices as the mix of houses sold in different periods can change over time, see CSO's  for details.

One in three dwellings were purchased in Cities in 2024

There were 48,859 residential dwellings purchased in 2024, of which 17,619 (36.1%) were in Cities. Only 6.7% of purchases were in Highly rural/remote areas (see Figure 5.7).

Just under two out of three apartments were purchased in Cities in 2024

There were 8,103 apartments purchased in 2024, and 61.3% were in Cities, followed by Satellite urban towns where 18.6% were purchased. Only 5.1% of all apartments purchased in 2024 were in rural areas.

Houses

Of the 40,756 houses purchased in 2024, 67.9% were in urban areas. Cities accounted for 31.0%, followed by 21.1% in Independent urban towns and 15.8% in Satellite urban towns.

Median property prices compared to median household income

Median property prices were just under five times higher than the median gross total household income in Ireland in 2024, see Tables 4.3, 5.7 and Figure 5.8. Price to income ratios were above the State average in Rural areas with high urban influence at 5.0. The lowest price to income ratio was 3.5 in Satellite urban towns.

Distance to everyday services

The Urban and Rural Life in Ireland, 2019 release included a table sourced from the '' release, providing insight into how close or far dwellings in the six area types were from everyday facilities, such as schools, public transport, hospitals, and GPs. An updated version of the 'Measuring distance to everyday services in Ireland' release will be published later in 2026, beginning with health services, and will include tables by the six-way urban/rural classification.