How Ballindrait works: jobs, income and commuting
Getting to work, school or college from Ballindrait takes 26.8 minutes on average; 8.1% take an hour or more. Out of work at the 2022 census: 16% of the labour force in Ballindrait, where the middle of Irish towns has 9.2%. There is no Jobs & income Grade for Ballindrait: it has under 1,000 residents, where the grade starts.
Work in Ballindrait: the figures worth knowing
Fewer people in work than most towns
63% of people aged 15 to 64 in Ballindrait had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
16% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 5% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household in Ballindrait had €32,490 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.
Ballindrait has no Jobs & income Grade
Ballindrait has under 1,000 residents, where the grade starts. The figures on this page are still its own.
In Ballindrait, 63% of the working-age population has a job
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Donegal, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Long-term unemployment, a year or more out of work, covered 5% of people aged 15 and over. Among the unemployed, 57% had been out of work that long. Counting everyone aged 15 and over, retirees and students included, 48% 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.
Before tax, the median household in Ballindrait has €32,490
Before tax, 2022; the middle of Irish towns is €57,760.
That puts Ballindrait 24% below the median for County Donegal as a whole, €42,497. Every town of 2,500 or more in the county has a higher median. Net of tax, it is €31,340. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 85% above Ballindrait’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
The Live Register count in County Donegal since 2019
6,785 people were signing on in County Donegal in September 2026. Set against a year before, the count in September 2026 fell by 7%. For 73 months in a row now, it has been under its 2019 average. County Donegal saw its highest month in May 2020: 10,882 people signing on, 9% 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).
Everyday places within walking distance in Ballindrait
Not graded: the Walkability grade starts at 1,000 residents.
Fewest residents live within 800 m of a food shop: 0%.
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.
The places around Ballindrait, side by side
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballindrait | 63% | 16% | €32K | 26.8 min | — | — |
| Lifford 2.8 km | 52% | 23% | €32K | 23.5 min | D− | D |
| Raphoe 5.6 km | 53% | 20% | €35K | 20.8 min | D | C− |
| Convoy 8.8 km | 63% | 15% | €39K | 21.2 min | C− | D− |
| Ballybofey-Stranorlar 16.7 km | 63% | 14% | €41K | 22.3 min | C− | D |
| Newtowncunningham 17.1 km | 60% | 15% | €44K | 23.3 min | D | D |
| Letterkenny 18.3 km | 65% | 12% | €50K | 19 min | B− | D |
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 Ballindrait, 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 Ballindrait
What is the unemployment rate in Ballindrait?
16% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 5% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
How long is the commute from Ballindrait?
Trips to work, school or college take 26.8 minutes on average; 8.1% take an hour or more and 51% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Ballindrait?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Ballindrait’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Ballindrait 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 Ballindrait travel and how long their trips take.
Sources: CSO Census 2022 SAPS · CSO Geographical Profiles of Income 2022 · CSO Live Register (LRM07) · OpenStreetMap (ODbL). 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).