Editing Swords, Dublin (section)

===Quality of life===
[[File:Highfields2.jpg|thumb|A [[middle class]] [[housing estate]] on the southern side of Swords]]
In 2012, Swords was named the third-best town in Ireland to live in. The survey conducted by Retail Excellence Ireland took into account safety, retail, dining, entertainment, events, car parking and the overall attractiveness of the town.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retailexcellence.ie/images/uploads/downloads/Sunday_Independent_Supplement_-_Best100_Towns__Cities.pdf|title=Retail Excellence Ireland Survey 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025222056/http://www.retailexcellence.ie//images//uploads//downloads//Sunday_Independent_Supplement_-_Best100_Towns__Cities.pdf|archive-date=25 October 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Swords has seen steady regeneration of shop fronts,<ref>{{Cite web|last=County Council|first=Fingal|date=2015|title=SWORDS CASTLE CULTURAL QUARTER|url=https://www.fingal.ie/sites/default/files/2020-02/re-swords-masterplan_draft_a_rev17-_13042015.pdf|access-date=1 January 2022|website=Fingal.ie|archive-date=23 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223054007/https://www.fingal.ie/sites/default/files/2020-02/re-swords-masterplan_draft_a_rev17-_13042015.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> public buildings, and footpaths and the restoration of [[Swords Castle]] since the mid-1990s. Households in Swords have the seventh-highest median incomes in the state, among distinct towns (a comparison excluding most other suburbs of the city).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gleeson|first=Colin|title=Households in Malahide enjoy highest incomes in State|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/households-in-malahide-enjoy-highest-incomes-in-state-1.3932426|access-date=2021-10-22|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en|archive-date=23 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023004417/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/households-in-malahide-enjoy-highest-incomes-in-state-1.3932426|url-status=live}}</ref>

A 2011 Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey declared Swords to be the second cleanest town in Ireland.<ref name="ibal.ie">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ibal.ie/press_releases/2012/PressRelease(1).pdf|title=Irish Business Against Litter Survey 2011|access-date=10 January 2012|archive-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115235423/http://www.ibal.ie/press_releases/2012/PressRelease(1).pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> This came just eight years after an IBAL survey had scored the town as the worst "litter blackspot" in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ibal.ie/press_releases/2003/pressrelease2003(2).pdf|title=Irish Business Against Litter Survey 2003|access-date=10 September 2012|archive-date=10 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010230341/http://www.ibal.ie/press_releases/2003/pressrelease2003(2).pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 2019 survey, [[An Taisce]], who carry out the surveys on behalf of IBAL, stated: "A stellar showing for this large urban area. Swords is a model for others to follow."<ref name="2019 IBAL">{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/fingalindependent/news/mayor-congratulates-swords-on-ibal-results-38857584.html|title=Mayor congratulates Swords on IBAL results|website=independent|date=18 January 2020|access-date=27 July 2022|archive-date=27 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727160209/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/fingalindependent/news/mayor-congratulates-swords-on-ibal-results-38857584.html|url-status=live}}</ref>