Photo: David P Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer of Mallow’s 15-to-64s are in work than in 70% of Irish towns
Trips to work, school or college from Mallow take 28.3 minutes on average, and 10% take an hour or more. Out of work at the 2022 census: 9.4% of the labour force in Mallow, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. The Jobs & income grade for Mallow is C, #43 of 54 in County Cork.
Work in Mallow: the figures worth knowing
Work near the middle
64% of people aged 15 to 64 in Mallow had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
9.4% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 2.7% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022, CSO household income 2022 and the Live Register.
Mallow grades C for jobs and income
With four measures combined, it comes out better than 35% of Irish towns, #43 of 54 in County Cork.
Its strongest measure is the unemployment rate; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
Where Mallow’s residents work, by industry
Commerce and trade is the second-largest at 22%, against 26% across Irish towns; the smallest of the seven is farming, forestry and fishing, at 0.8%.
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.
How many in Mallow have a job: 64% of 15-to-64s
Of the 53 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Cork, 13 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
2.7% of everyone aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Among the unemployed, 49% had been out of work that long. Of all residents aged 15 and over, retirees and students among them, 52% 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.
What households earn in Mallow: €51,319 a year
Before tax, 2022: lower than in 60% of Irish towns.
Mallow’s median is 15% below County Cork’s (€60,671). 29 of the county’s 53 other towns of 2,500 people or more have a higher median. After tax, the median is €45,831. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 17% above Mallow’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Across Mallow, household incomes range from €43K to €58K
Median gross household income in each of the 3 electoral divisions where 50 or more of Mallow’s households live: the highest is 1.4 times the lowest.
| Electoral division | Households here | Median income (whole division) | Aged 15–64 in work (here) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mallow North Urban | 2,323 | €53,319 | 65% |
| Mallow Rural | 1,333 | €58,365 | 63% |
| Mallow South Urban | 1,210 | €42,885 | 65% |
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022 (GPIIA01): each division’s median covers all its households, including any outside Mallow; households and the share in work are Mallow’s own part (Census 2022, CSO SAPS).
Car-free commutes: 14% of workers in Mallow
Bus and rail carry 1% and 2.3% of commuters, against 6% and 0.9% in the middle of Irish towns. By bike: 0.8% of commuters, next to 2.4% in the middle of Irish towns. The car or van carries most commuters: 77%. The middle of Irish towns has 11% working mainly from home; here it is 8.7%.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
Getting to work or school from Mallow takes about as long as in the middle of Irish towns
Trips of 15 to 44 minutes are the most common, at 43% (middle of County Cork: 59%). For the middle of County Cork, the average trip is 24.8 minutes. In County Cork, 52 of 54 towns counted average a shorter trip. Against 33% in the middle of County Cork, 38% of trips take under 15 minutes.
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.
How the count signing on in County Cork has moved
19,928 people were signing on in County Cork in September 2026. Over the year to September 2026, the count rose by 5%. Its lowest month since 2019 was February 2022, at 18,274. Mallow office: signing on peaked in July 2020 at 1,249, 18% 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).
Jobs, studies and retirement in Mallow: 52% in work
Compared with Irish towns, 7.4% 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.
Getting around Mallow on foot earns C−
Better than 22% of Irish towns on two measures together, #41 of 54 in County Cork.
Of the everyday places, a post office is the one the fewest residents have within 800 m (40%).
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.
How Mallow ranks: 64th of 83 Irish towns of 9,400 to 18,200
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballsbridge County Dublin | 12,743 | 80% | 5.2% | €99K | A+ |
| 2 | Rathmines East County Dublin | 16,923 | 77% | 5.4% | €94K | A+ |
| 3 | Grantstown and Ballinakill County Waterford | 9,571 | 72% | 6% | €74K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | Midleton County Cork | 13,906 | 70% | 6.9% | €63K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 35 | Mahon County Cork | 13,892 | 67% | 8.5% | €62K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 43 | Bishopstown County Cork | 14,529 | 60% | 6.9% | €60K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 62 | Kildare County Kildare | 10,302 | 66% | 10% | €63K | C+ |
| 63 | Tullamore County Offaly | 15,598 | 64% | 12% | €53K | C+ |
| 64 | Mallow County Cork | 13,456 | 64% | 9.4% | €51K | C |
| 65 | Finglas North County Dublin | 9,805 | 67% | 12% | €54K | C |
| 66 | Kilmore County Dublin | 9,786 | 65% | 12% | €58K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 83 | Summerhill County Dublin | 11,911 | 60% | 15% | €45K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Mallow, and others in County Cork.
Mallow and its neighbours: work and income
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mallow | 64% | 9.4% | €51K | 28.3 min | C | C− |
| Buttevant 11 km | 60% | 17% | €47K | 27.9 min | D− | B |
| Kanturk 19 km | 67% | 9.4% | €44K | 28 min | C | 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 Mallow, 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 Mallow
What is the unemployment rate in Mallow?
9.4% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 2.7% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Mallow a good place to find work?
Mallow earns a C for jobs and income, better than 35% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #43 of 54 in County Cork.
How do people in Mallow get to work?
77% of commuters go by car or van, 10% walk, 0.8% cycle and 3.3% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 8.7% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Mallow?
Trips to work, school or college take 28.3 minutes on average; 10% take an hour or more and 38% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Mallow?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Mallow’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Mallow 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 Mallow 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).