Cities in Ireland

All 4 cities in Ireland with more than 100,000 residents: the official population, a short profile and the crime rate recorded by the police, set against the rate for Ireland.

Cities with at least 100,000 residents in the CSO’s “city and suburbs” unit at the 2022 census (3 April 2022) – the built-up city including suburbs, which can cross county boundaries. Galway (85,910) is included as an extra.

How to read the figures

• Population is the latest official figure from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Census 2022.
• The crime rate is: recorded crime incidents per 1,000 residents of the garda division, 2025, from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), recorded crime by Garda Division. National rate: Ireland 56.9.
• The CSO publishes recorded crime by Garda Division, not by city. Dublin is the six Dublin Metropolitan Region divisions (County Dublin), Limerick and Galway are their whole counties, so each rate mixes the city with its surrounding countryside. Cork has no clean rate: the Cork City division does not match any published population. Rates divide 2025 incidents by the Census 2022 population of the same area.
• Compare cities within Ireland only: every country defines and records crime differently.
• The figure is not your personal risk: offences are counted where they happen, so city centres with many commuters and visitors record higher rates.

All 4 cities

City	Region	Residents	Crime rate
Dublin	County Dublin (Dublin City, Fingal, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown council areas; suburbs extend into County Meath), province of Leinster	1,263,219	83.4
Cork	County Cork (Cork City Council area), province of Munster	222,526	–
Limerick	County Limerick (Limerick City and County Council; suburbs extend into County Clare), province of Munster	102,287	61.3
Galway	County Galway (Galway City Council area; suburbs extend into Galway County), province of Connacht	85,910	43.9

The cities, from largest

Dublin (Baile Átha Cliath)

County Dublin (Dublin City, Fingal, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown council areas; suburbs extend into County Meath), province of Leinster · 1,263,219 residents on 3 April 2022.

Ireland's capital and largest city, the State's administrative centre and an IT hub where nine of the top ten global tech companies are located. Trinity College Dublin (founded 1592, 22,000 students) sits in the city centre, and Dublin Airport handled 36.4 million passengers in 2025.

Recorded crime incidents per 1,000 residents of the Garda Division, 2025: Dublin Metropolitan Region (County Dublin) 83.4, Ireland 56.9. Rate calculated by Relocate in Europe from the official count and the official population.

Sources – population: CSO · Crime: CSO · About the city: Dublin City Development Plan 2022–2028, Chapter 6 City Economy and Enterprise, 6.1 Introduction – Dublin City Council, About Trinity – Trinity College Dublin, CSO PxStat table TAA05: Passengers by Airports in Ireland and Year (Aviation Statistics)

Cork (Corcaigh)

County Cork (Cork City Council area), province of Munster · 222,526 residents on 3 April 2022.

Ireland's second city and the county capital; the South-West region is known for pharmaceuticals, life sciences and medtech, technology, international financial services and engineering (IDA Ireland). University College Cork has over 26,000 students, and Cork Airport handled 3.5 million passengers in 2025.

No clean rate: the Cork City Garda Division recorded 14,875 crime incidents in 2025 (14,321 in groups 01–08 and 10–16 from CJQ10 plus 554 fraud incidents from CJQ11), but the division covers Cork City Council's area (224,004 residents, Census 2022) plus the Carrigaline, Crosshaven, Passage West and Carrignavar Garda station areas in County Cork, for which no official population is published. For County Cork as a whole (Cork City and Cork County Garda Divisions combined: 24,247 incidents ÷ 584,156 residents) the rate is 41.5 per 1,000. Ireland: 56.9.

Sources – population: CSO · Crime: CSO · About the city: Why Ireland: The Southwest – IDA Ireland (state investment agency), Discover UCC – University College Cork, CSO PxStat table TAA05: Passengers by Airports in Ireland and Year (Aviation Statistics)

Limerick (Luimneach)

County Limerick (Limerick City and County Council; suburbs extend into County Clare), province of Munster · 102,287 residents on 3 April 2022.

Ireland's third-largest city and the commercial and administrative capital of the Mid-West, 25 km from Shannon Airport. The University of Limerick has over 19,000 students, and employers in the area include Analog Devices (over 1,800 people), Regeneron and Cook Medical.

Recorded crime incidents per 1,000 residents of the Garda Division, 2025: Limerick Garda Division (County Limerick) 61.3, Ireland 56.9. Rate calculated by Relocate in Europe from the official count and the official population.

Sources – population: CSO · Crime: CSO · About the city: Our Location – Limerick.ie (Limerick City and County Council), About UL – University of Limerick, Why Ireland: The Mid-West – IDA Ireland (state investment agency)

Galway (Gaillimh)

County Galway (Galway City Council area; suburbs extend into Galway County), province of Connacht · 85,910 residents on 3 April 2022.

The largest urban centre on Ireland's western seaboard and the driver of regional employment in the West (IDA Ireland); Boston Scientific and Medtronic employ close to 8,000 people between them in Galway. The University of Galway, founded in 1845, has over 19,000 students.

Recorded crime incidents per 1,000 residents of the Garda Division, 2025: Galway Garda Division (city and county) 43.9, Ireland 56.9. Rate calculated by Relocate in Europe from the official count and the official population.

Sources – population: CSO · Crime: CSO · About the city: Why Ireland: The West – IDA Ireland (state investment agency), About Us – University of Galway

Sources and method

Population: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Census of Population 2022, Profile 1 – Population Distribution and Movements, PxStat table F1015: Population (Census 2022) by List of Towns, Sex and Census Year (also table F1010 for the city-and-suburbs aggregates and administrative counties). Crime: CSO, Recorded Crime Q1 2026 (published 25 June 2026), PxStat tables CJQ10 'Recorded crime incidents (New Garda Operating Model) by Garda Division, Quarter and Type of Offence' and CJQ11 'Recorded crime incidents (New Garda Operating Model) of Fraud, Deception & Related offences directly reported to the Gardaí by members of the public, by Garda Division and Quarter'; four quarters of 2025 summed; data extracted from PULSE on 1 June 2026. Where a figure was not published for a city, we say so rather than estimate it. Found an error? Write to editor@relocateineurope.com.