Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Kinsale than in 81% of Irish towns
People heading out of Kinsale for work or study spend 23.3 minutes travelling on average; 5.3% spend 60 minutes or longer. At the 2022 census, 6% of the labour force in Kinsale had no job, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. The Jobs & income grade for Kinsale is A, #13 of 54 in County Cork.
The short version on work in Kinsale
Less unemployment than most towns
6% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 1.6% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Unemployment ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Trips to work, school or college take 23.3 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 5.3% take an hour or more. The trip to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022, CSO household income 2022 and the Live Register.
Kinsale grades A for jobs and income
Better than 90% of Irish towns on four measures taken together, #13 of 54 in County Cork.
Its strongest measure is the unemployment rate; 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 share of 15-to-64s in work in Kinsale: 72%
Of the 53 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Cork, 43 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
1.6% of everyone aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Among the unemployed, 46% had been out of work that long. Of all residents aged 15 and over, retirees and students among them, 56% 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.
A quicker run to work or school from Kinsale than in the middle of Irish towns
In the middle of County Cork, the trip averages 24.8 minutes. In County Cork, 11 of 54 towns counted average a shorter trip. 51% of trips take under 15 minutes, against 33% 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.
In Kinsale, 24% of residents in work are in professional services, health and education
The second-largest is Commerce and trade, at 20% (against 26% across Irish towns), and farming, forestry and fishing is the smallest of the seven, at 0.9%.
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.
Household income in Kinsale: €56,943 a year
Before tax, 2022: higher than in 54% of Irish towns.
Of the county’s 53 other towns of 2,500 or more, 24 have a higher median. After tax, the median is €49,463. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 6% above Kinsale’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Not by car: 17% of Kinsale’s commuters walk, cycle or ride the bus or train
Against 10% and 2.4% in the middle of Irish towns, 14% walk and 1.1% cycle. By car or van: 68% of commuters, next to 71% in the middle of County Cork. Against 11% in the middle of Irish towns, 16% work mainly from home.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
County Cork on the Live Register since 2019
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. Kinsale office: signing on peaked in July 2020 at 516, 21% 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.
People signing on each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
56% of people 16 and over in Kinsale are in work
Compared with Irish towns, 20% 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.
The walkability of Kinsale: B+
Better than 67% of Irish towns on two measures together, #24 of 54 in County Cork.
Fewest residents live within 800 m of a post office: 79%.
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.
Out of 95 Irish towns of 4,200 to 8,100, Kinsale comes 13th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballinlough County Cork | 5,435 | 74% | 4.8% | €72K | A+ |
| 2 | Carrigtwohill County Cork | 5,568 | 73% | 5.5% | €71K | A+ |
| 3 | Oranmore County Galway | 5,819 | 79% | 5.9% | €80K | A+ |
| 4 | Glounthaune County Cork | 5,000 | 73% | 4.3% | €76K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 11 | Rathcoole County Dublin | 5,792 | 78% | 5.7% | €78K | A |
| 12 | Westport County Mayo | 6,872 | 76% | 7.3% | €50K | A |
| 13 | Kinsale County Cork | 5,991 | 72% | 6% | €57K | A |
| 14 | Kinsealy-Drinan County Dublin | 7,526 | 76% | 7% | €76K | A |
| 15 | Marino County Dublin | 6,272 | 74% | 5.6% | €79K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 95 | Courtown County Wexford | 4,365 | 60% | 15% | €44K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Kinsale, and others in County Cork.
Next to Kinsale: how nearby places compare
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinsale | 72% | 6% | €57K | 23.3 min | A | B+ |
| Inishannon 11.6 km | 77% | 2.6% | €79K | 23.9 min | A+ | B− |
| Carrigaline 15.2 km | 70% | 5.5% | €78K | 25.7 min | A | D |
| Bandon 15.5 km | 67% | 9.6% | €52K | 24.4 min | B− | B− |
| Lehenagh 17.7 km | 69% | 6.8% | €79K | 25.2 min | A | D |
| Frankfield and Grange 18.1 km | 71% | 5.7% | €82K | 25.1 min | A | C− |
| Inishkenny 18.3 km | 72% | 6% | €75K | 24.1 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 Kinsale, 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 Kinsale
What is the unemployment rate in Kinsale?
6% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 1.6% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Kinsale a good place to find work?
Kinsale earns an A for jobs and income, better than 90% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #13 of 54 in County Cork.
How do people in Kinsale get to work?
68% of commuters go by car or van, 14% walk, 1.1% cycle and 1.9% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 16% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Kinsale?
Trips to work, school or college take 23.3 minutes on average; 5.3% take an hour or more and 51% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Kinsale?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Kinsale’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Kinsale 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 Kinsale 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).