Living in Ratoath, Co. Meath: Schools, Commute & House Prices 2026

Leinster house prices & rents › Meath › Living in Ratoath

Ratoath is a town in Co. Meath, about 27 minutes from Dublin city centre by car and on the rail line, 6 schools, 78.6% of households own their home. Living here costs a median €468,000 to buy or €1,860 a month to rent (a 4.8% gross yield).

Official CSO, Department of Education, Transport for Ireland, PPR & RTB data · 103 sales · updated July 2026

How Ratoath compares: at €468,000 it is 14% above the County Meath median of €410k. Its 4.8% gross yield is above the county average of 4.6%.Recent activity in Ratoath: latest recorded sale Jun 2026; 830 new homes approved in the last year; prices +5.4% year on year. This page updates as new official data lands.

Who lives in Ratoath — 78.6% own their home, full Census breakdown

Who lives in Ratoath

10,077 people live in Ratoath on Census 2022 night. 79% of households own their home and 17% rent, so Ratoath leans towards owner occupiers. The most common way to commute is by car (60%). It skews young: 24% are under 15 against 5% aged 65 and over. 49% of those who have finished education hold a third level qualification.

Source: CSO Census 2022 Small Area Population Statistics for the Ratoath built-up area, CC-BY 4.0.

Getting around and commuting

Nearest train station: M3 Parkway (8.1 km away), on the Maynooth line

Public transport serving Ratoath — 3 operators

Getting around Ratoath

Ratoath is served by 3 public-transport operators running 8 scheduled routes. Operators are Ashbourne Connect, Bus Éireann and Streamline Coaches.

Scheduled routes

• 103 - Dublin - Ashbourne - Ratoath
• 105 - Blanchardstown - Ashbourne - Ashbourne - Drogheda
• 109 - Dublin - Navan - Kells - Cavan
• 194 - Ratoath - Dublin
• 105X - UCD - M3 - Ratoath - Ashbourne
• 109A - DCU - Airport - Ratoath - Navan
• 109B - Dublin - Dunshaughlin - Trim
• UM03 - Dundalk - Drogheda - Maynooth

Source: Transport for Ireland GTFS_All feed (NTA), CC-BY 4.0. Stops matched to the town within a 6 km radius; route list capped.

Schools in Ratoath

There are 5 primary and 1 post-primary schools in and around Ratoath.

Source: Department of Education, Data on Individual Schools. CC-BY 4.0.

Things to do in and around Ratoath

• Heritage nearby: Skreen Church (11 km) · Hill of Tara (13 km) · Maynooth Castle (16 km) · Bective Abbey (18 km)
• Walking trails in County Meath: Royal Canal Way · Royal Canal Greenway Walking Trail · Drewstown Woods - Girley Bog walk · Littlewood - Forest Walk

Where Ratoath is

Map © OpenStreetMap contributors

What it costs: house prices and rent in Ratoath

What this means: New builds in Ratoath sell at about a 5% discount to second-hand homes (€462,500 vs €487,500).

Recent sales in Ratoath

Actual sale prices from the Property Price Register, verifiable at propertypriceregister.ie.

Ratoath median price, year by year

Average rent by size

Maximum legal rent increase in Ratoath

Since 1 March 2026 a rent review is capped at the lower of 2% a year (pro rata) or CPI inflation.

The full March 2026 rent review rules

Ratoath compared with County Meath

Rent or buy in Ratoath?

At a glance: €468,000 to buy versus €1,860 a month to rent, a 4.8% gross yield.

Local Property Tax in Ratoath

The median home (€468,000) falls in LPT Band 4, a base charge of €428 a year before Meath County Council's local adjustment factor. Use the calculator for your exact valuation.

Renting in Ratoath: the March 2026 rent rules

Every rent increase is now capped at the lesser of 2% a year (pro rata) or CPI inflation, nationwide since 1 March 2026. A review needs 90 days' notice on the RTB form, no more than one in any 12 months, and the notice must cite three comparable homes from the RTB Rent Register. Check any rent increase against the legal cap, or see average rents for every Leinster town.

Before you move: planning and flood

Recent development in Ratoath

In the 12 months to July 2026, 43 planning grants were recorded in and around Ratoath, including 830 new homes approved across those grants.

Source: Irish Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (ArcGIS, CC-BY 4.0). Granted applications keyed to the nearest town within 7 km. Homes column shows residential units in the application where recorded.

What this means: The 830 homes approved here in the last year are about 27% of Ratoath's roughly 3,041 households, a supply pipeline that typically eases price pressure.

Flood maps

For the modelled fluvial, coastal and pluvial flood extents around Ratoath, open the official OPW flood maps, the authoritative source for Ratoath, Meath.

View the official OPW flood maps for Ratoath →

Source: Office of Public Works, floodinfo.ie. No OPW flood-extent values are reproduced here.

County context

Planning permissions are reported at NUTS3 region level; counties in this region share a figure.

Sources: CSO F1001, CIA02, BHQ09. CC-BY 4.0.

Nearby Meath towns

Dunboyne · Ashbourne · Dunshaughlin · Stamullen · Clonee · Bettystown

All Meath house prices · All Leinster house prices

Sources: CSO Census 2022, Department of Education, Transport for Ireland, Property Price Register (PSRA), CSO RPPI, RTB via CSO. CC-BY. Figures verifiable at the official source.