Photo: Joseph Mischyshyn · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Blarney than in 88% of Irish towns
At the 2022 census, 5.4% of the labour force in Blarney had no job, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. For jobs and income, Blarney earns a grade of A, #11 of 54 in County Cork. Getting to work, school or college from Blarney takes 26.2 minutes on average, with 5.9% taking an hour or more.
The work numbers behind Blarney
Less unemployment than most towns
5.4% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 1.7% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household in Blarney had €67,306 a year before tax in 2022; the middle of Irish towns is €57,760. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022, CSO household income 2022 and the Live Register.
Blarney earns A for jobs and income
With four measures combined, it comes out better than 93% of Irish towns, #11 of 54 in County Cork.
Its strongest measure is the unemployment rate; its weakest, trip times.
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.
Working-age people in Blarney: 73% have a job
Of the 53 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Cork, 49 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
1.7% of everyone aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Put another way, 52% of the unemployed had been out of work for a year or more. Of all residents aged 15 and over, retirees and students among them, 57% 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.
The middle household in Blarney: €67,306 a year
Before tax, 2022: higher than in 71% of Irish towns.
Blarney’s median is 11% above County Cork’s (€60,671). 16 of the county’s 53 other towns of 2,500 people or more have a higher median. After tax, the median is €56,104. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 11% below Blarney’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Where the people of Blarney earn a living, by industry
The second-largest is Commerce and trade, at 22% (against 26% across Irish towns), and farming, forestry and fishing is the smallest of the seven, 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.
8.7% of commuters in Blarney go on foot, by bike or by public transport
The middle of Irish towns has 10% walking and 2.4% cycling; here it is 4% and 0.4%. Most go by car or van: 78% of commuters. The middle of Irish towns has 11% working mainly from home; here it is 13%. By bus: 4.1% of commuters, next to 6% in the middle of Irish towns.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
Blarney sits near the middle of Irish towns on the trip to work or school
The middle of County Cork has 59% of trips at 15 to 44 minutes; here it is 57%, the commonest length. Across County Cork, the middle town’s trips average 24.8 minutes. Of the 54 towns of County Cork counted, 39 have a shorter average trip. 33% of trips take under 15 minutes, about the same as in the middle of County Cork.
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.
Signing on in County Cork, against the 2019 level
19,928 people were signing on in County Cork in September 2026. Set against a year before, the count in September 2026 rose by 5%. Its lowest month since 2019 was February 2022, at 18,274. County Cork saw its highest month in July 2020: 25,292 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).
Jobs, studies and retirement in Blarney: 57% in work
Compared with Irish towns, 8.3% are full-time students (against 11%) and 19% are retired (against 15%).
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), principal economic status of people aged 15 and over; occupations of those at work, in three broad groups.
Blarney earns C for walkability
Better than 28% of Irish towns on two measures together, #39 of 54 in County Cork.
Fewest residents live within 800 m of a post office: 51%.
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.
Blarney next to Irish towns of 2,500 to 3,800: 4th of 61 on 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 |
| 5 | Stamullen County Meath | 3,720 | 74% | 5% | €84K | A |
| 6 | Crosshaven County Cork | 3,263 | 72% | 4.9% | €70K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Tower County Cork | 3,300 | 69% | 5.9% | €74K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Cork City Centre County Cork | 3,701 | 71% | 10% | €46K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 28 | Shandon County Cork | 3,539 | 71% | 11% | €44K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 61 | Mayfield County Cork | 2,846 | 49% | 20% | €38K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Blarney, and others in County Cork.
Jobs near Blarney: the places around it
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blarney | 73% | 5.4% | €67K | 26.2 min | A | C |
| Tower 3.1 km | 69% | 5.9% | €74K | 26.8 min | A− | D− |
| Hollyhill and Ballincolly 4.9 km | 66% | 7.9% | €70K | 24.7 min | B+ | D |
| Knocknaheeny 5.5 km | 56% | 16% | €44K | 23.8 min | D | A− |
| Shanakiel 5.6 km | 67% | 10% | €55K | 26.6 min | B− | B+ |
| Fair Hill 5.8 km | 59% | 14% | €45K | 24.4 min | D | B− |
| Ballincollig 6.2 km | 73% | 5.1% | €76K | 22.8 min | A+ | C |
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 Blarney, 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 Blarney
What is the unemployment rate in Blarney?
5.4% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 1.7% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Blarney a good place to find work?
Blarney earns an A for jobs and income, better than 93% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #11 of 54 in County Cork.
How do people in Blarney get to work?
78% of commuters go by car or van, 4% walk, 0.4% cycle and 4.3% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 13% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Blarney?
Trips to work, school or college take 26.2 minutes on average; 5.9% take an hour or more and 33% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Blarney?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Blarney’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Blarney 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 Blarney 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).