Photo: Sebastian “sebrem” B… · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Blackpool trail those of 87% of Irish towns
For jobs and income, Blackpool earns a grade of C, #46 of 54 in County Cork. The 2022 census put unemployment in Blackpool at 12%, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns.
The short version on work in Blackpool
Work near the middle
68% of people aged 15 to 64 in Blackpool had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household in Blackpool had €41,940 a year before tax in 2022; the middle of Irish towns is €57,760. CSO publishes no income figure for this place, so this one is our estimate from its electoral divisions. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022, CSO household income 2022 and the Live Register.
Jobs and income in Blackpool earn C
Taken together, its four measures make it better than 28% of Irish towns, #46 of 54 in County Cork.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; its weakest, household income.
Graded against Irish towns of 1,000 people or more; a shorter trip and less unemployment count in its favor.
How the grade works
Four measures, weighed equally against every Irish town of 1,000 people or more: median gross household income (CSO, 2022), people at work as a share of residents aged 15 to 64, the unemployment rate and the average trip to work, school or college (all three Census 2022). Each becomes a percentile; their average sets the letter.
The median household in Blackpool has €41,940 a year
That puts Blackpool 31% below the median for County Cork as a whole, €60,671. 48 of the county’s 53 other towns of 2,500 people or more have a higher median. Net of tax, it is €36,840. The State median is €60,123, 43% above Blackpool’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Where Blackpool’s residents work, by industry
Commerce and trade is the second-largest at 19%, against 26% across Irish towns; the smallest of the seven is farming, forestry and fishing, at 0.2%.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), industry of people at work who live here. Ireland doesn’t publish how many jobs are based in each town, so this shows what residents do, not the jobs here.
The share in work in Blackpool: 68% of 15-to-64s
Of the 53 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Cork, 24 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Long-term unemployment, a year or more out of work, covered 3.3% of people aged 15 and over. Among the unemployed, 43% had been out of work that long. Counting everyone aged 15 and over, retirees and students included, 59% were at work.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS): people at work of any age, over residents aged 15 to 64. The census doesn’t cross work with age, so the few people working past 65 count in the top only.
Walk, cycle, bus or train: the choice of 47% of Blackpool’s commuters
Mainly from home: 15% of residents in work, next to 11% in the middle of Irish towns. The bus takes 14% of commuters, against 6% in the middle of Irish towns. By bike: 4% of commuters, well above the 1.4% in the middle of County Cork. 38% go by car or van, against 71% in the middle of County Cork.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
Blackpool spends about as long getting to work or school as the middle of Irish towns
Across County Cork, the middle town’s trips average 24.8 minutes. 44 of the 54 towns of County Cork counted have a shorter average trip. The middle of County Cork has 33% of trips under 15 minutes; here it is 22%. An hour or more: 5.3% of trips, much as in the middle of County Cork. The middle of County Cork has 59% of trips at 15 to 44 minutes; here it is 68%, the commonest length.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), time taken to travel to work, school or college; the four bands are the shares of trips whose length was stated.
Cork city on the Live Register since 2019
6,264 people were signing on in Cork city in September 2026. Over the year to September 2026, the count rose by 8%. Its lowest month since 2019 was February 2022, at 5,170. Cork city saw its highest month in July 2020: 7,209 people signing on, 14% above the 2019 average.
Live Register (CSO LRM07), people signing on at social welfare offices each month. It isn’t an unemployment rate: part-time and seasonal workers sign on too, and offices serve areas that aren’t published. This place has no office of its own name, so the chart is its county’s or city’s.
People signing on each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
In Blackpool, 59% of adults are in work
Compared with Irish towns, 7.3% are long-term sick or disabled (against 4.7%).
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), principal economic status of people aged 15 and over; occupations of those at work, in three broad groups.
Blackpool grades A+ for walkability
Better than 96% of Irish towns on two measures together, #5 of 54 in County Cork.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), places within 800 m in a straight line of each Census small area; active commuting from Census 2022. OpenStreetMap misses many GP surgeries and bakeries in Ireland, so those two are shown, not graded.
Blackpool is 55th of 76 Irish towns of 2,500 to 4,200 people for jobs and income
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annacotty County Limerick | 3,398 | 71% | 6% | €90K | A+ |
| 2 | Grange Upper County Waterford | 2,510 | 71% | 7.4% | €65K | A |
| 3 | Riverstown County Cork | 3,664 | 70% | 5.1% | €83K | A |
| 4 | Blarney County Cork | 2,779 | 73% | 5.4% | €67K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | Crosshaven County Cork | 3,263 | 72% | 4.9% | €70K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 53 | Clara County Offaly | 3,403 | 61% | 12% | €47K | C |
| 54 | Togher County Cork | 3,007 | 62% | 12% | €43K | C |
| 55 | Blackpool County Cork | 3,124 | 68% | 12% | €42K | C |
| 56 | Charleville County Cork | 3,970 | 63% | 11% | €43K | C |
| 57 | Limerick City Centre County Limerick | 3,434 | 67% | 15% | €41K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 76 | Mayfield County Cork | 2,846 | 49% | 20% | €38K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Blackpool, and others in County Cork.
Work in the places around Blackpool
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackpool | 68% | 12% | €42K | 26.9 min | C | A+ |
| Farranree 0.7 km | 58% | 16% | €38K | 24.5 min | D− | A |
| Shandon 0.7 km | 71% | 11% | €44K | 25.2 min | B− | A+ |
| St Luke's 0.9 km | 74% | 10% | €44K | 27.6 min | B− | A+ |
| The Glen 1.1 km | 61% | 13% | €48K | 25.8 min | D | A− |
| Cork City Centre 1.2 km | 71% | 10% | €46K | 25.6 min | B− | A+ |
| Gurranebraher 1.2 km | 61% | 13% | €39K | 25.7 min | D | A |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and trip times, with both grades.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Blackpool, where it comes from, and what Ireland doesn’t publish.
- In work. People at work over residents aged 15 to 64 (Census 2022). Graded in place of the share of everyone 15 and over, so a town of retirees isn’t marked down for them.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people (first-job seekers included) over the labour force, from Census 2022.
- Household income. CSO’s median gross household income for 2022. Where CSO publishes no figure for the town, ours is the household-weighted mean of its electoral divisions’ medians, and the page says so.
- Trip times. Census 2022 groups trips to work, school and college by length; the average uses each group’s middle (7.5 to 105 minutes).
- Signing on. The Live Register counts people signing on at a social welfare office, by office and county. It includes part-time and seasonal workers, so it follows a trend; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- Walkability. Four everyday places within 800 m (pharmacy, food shop, school, post office) and the share who walk, cycle or take the bus or train to work. GP surgeries and bakeries are shown, not graded: OpenStreetMap misses many.
- Which towns we compare. Places of 2,500 people or more that aren’t a whole city: towns and city neighbourhoods. Grades start at 1,000 people; ranks at 2,500.
- What isn’t here. Ireland publishes no count of the jobs based in each town and no open table of where commuters go (CSO releases its place-of-work file, POWSCAR, on application only), so this page has no daily tide, commute map or jobs-based-here block. Claimant rates aren’t published for towns either: the Live Register is by office and county.
Questions about work in Blackpool
What is the unemployment rate in Blackpool?
12% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 3.3% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Blackpool a good place to find work?
Blackpool earns a C for jobs and income, better than 28% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #46 of 54 in County Cork.
How do people in Blackpool get to work?
38% of commuters go by car or van, 28% walk, 4% cycle and 15% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 15% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Blackpool?
Trips to work, school or college take 26.9 minutes on average; 5.3% take an hour or more and 22% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Blackpool?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Blackpool’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Blackpool work?
Ireland has no open table of where commuters go: CSO releases its place-of-work file (POWSCAR) on application only. The census does give how people from Blackpool travel and how long their trips take.
Sources: CSO Census 2022 SAPS · CSO Geographical Profiles of Income 2022 · CSO Live Register (LRM07) · OpenStreetMap (ODbL) · grades: TownRatings. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).