Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0Working-age people in Midleton have jobs more often than in 66% of Irish towns
Trips to work, school or college from Midleton take 25.4 minutes on average, and 5.3% take an hour or more. At the 2022 census, 6.9% of the labour force in Midleton had no job, next to 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. The Jobs & income grade for Midleton is A−, #20 of 54 in County Cork.
The work figures that set Midleton apart
Work near the middle
70% of people aged 15 to 64 in Midleton had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
6.9% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 2.4% 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.
Midleton grades A− for jobs and income
Taken together, its four measures make it better than 81% of Irish towns, #20 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.
Where Midleton’s residents work, by industry
The second-largest is Professional services, health and education, at 23% (against 25% across Irish towns), and farming, forestry and fishing is the smallest of the seven, at 0.5%.
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.
Work for 70% of 15-to-64s in Midleton
Of the 53 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Cork, 32 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Long-term unemployment, a year or more out of work, covered 2.4% of people aged 15 and over. Put another way, 55% of the unemployed had been out of work for a year or more. Counting everyone aged 15 and over, retirees and students included, 60% 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.
Midleton at the median: €63,457 a household
That puts Midleton 5% above the median for County Cork as a whole, €60,671. 18 of the county’s 53 other towns of 2,500 people or more have a higher median. Net of tax, it is €53,442. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 5% below Midleton’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
€49K to €71K: incomes from one part of Midleton to another
Median gross household income in each of the 3 electoral divisions where 50 or more of Midleton’s households live: the highest is 1.5 times the lowest.
| Electoral division | Households here | Median income (whole division) | Aged 15–64 in work (here) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midleton Rural | 2,853 | €70,840 | 70% |
| Midleton Urban | 1,580 | €48,568 | 70% |
| Cloyne | 536 | €67,882 | 67% |
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022 (GPIIA01): each division’s median covers all its households, including any outside Midleton; households and the share in work are Midleton’s own part (Census 2022, CSO SAPS).
15% of Midleton’s commuters walk, cycle, or take the bus or train
Against 71% in the middle of County Cork, 74% go by car or van. Mainly from home: 11% of residents in work, much as in the middle of Irish towns. 8.8% walk and 1.1% cycle to work, against 10% and 2.4% in the middle of Irish towns. More people go by train, DART or Luas to work here than in the middle of County Cork: 3% against 0.3%.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
A quicker run to work or school from Midleton than in the middle of Irish towns
Trips of under 15 minutes are 35% of the total, against 33% in the middle of County Cork. The commonest trip is 15 to 44 minutes, for 55% of trips; the middle of County Cork has 59%. In County Cork, 33 of 54 towns counted average a shorter trip.
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.
6% fewer people sign on in County Cork than in 2019
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. Midleton office: signing on peaked in July 2020 at 1,432, 17% 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).
Most of Midleton works: 60% of adults are in work
The mix is close to Irish towns’ as a whole.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), principal economic status of people aged 15 and over; occupations of those at work, in three broad groups.
Everyday places on foot in Midleton: C−
Better than 23% of Irish towns on two measures together, #40 of 54 in County Cork.
Fewest residents live within 800 m of a post office: 22%.
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 89 Irish towns of 9,700 to 18,800, Midleton comes 24th on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Terenure County Dublin | 10,391 | 78% | 4.7% | €87K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 11 | Carrigaline County Cork | 18,239 | 70% | 5.5% | €78K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 22 | Clontarf West County Dublin | 15,296 | 75% | 6.3% | €73K | A− |
| 23 | Malahide County Dublin | 18,608 | 72% | 4.8% | €97K | A− |
| 24 | Midleton County Cork | 13,906 | 70% | 6.9% | €63K | A− |
| 25 | Firhouse County Dublin | 12,254 | 71% | 6.8% | €81K | A− |
| 26 | Ratoath County Meath | 10,077 | 70% | 6% | €96K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 40 | Mahon County Cork | 13,892 | 67% | 8.5% | €62K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 48 | Bishopstown County Cork | 14,529 | 60% | 6.9% | €60K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 89 | Summerhill County Dublin | 11,911 | 60% | 15% | €45K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Midleton, and others in County Cork.
Around Midleton: jobs, pay and the commute
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midleton | 70% | 6.9% | €63K | 25.4 min | A− | C− |
| Carrigtwohill 5.9 km | 73% | 5.5% | €71K | 22.3 min | A+ | C |
| Cloyne 6.7 km | 70% | 7.1% | €63K | 27.8 min | B+ | D |
| Castlemartyr 8.4 km | 73% | 7.4% | €58K | 28.1 min | A− | B |
| Aghada-Rostellan 9 km | 68% | 6.4% | €72K | 29 min | B+ | D− |
| Whitegate 10.1 km | 69% | 5.3% | €71K | 31.6 min | B+ | D− |
| Cobh 11.3 km | 67% | 7.7% | €58K | 27.8 min | B | 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 Midleton, 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 Midleton
What is the unemployment rate in Midleton?
6.9% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 2.4% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Midleton a good place to find work?
Midleton earns an A− for jobs and income, better than 81% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #20 of 54 in County Cork.
How do people in Midleton get to work?
74% of commuters go by car or van, 8.8% walk, 1.1% cycle and 4.7% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 11% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Midleton?
Trips to work, school or college take 25.4 minutes on average; 5.3% take an hour or more and 35% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Midleton?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Midleton’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Midleton 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 Midleton 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).