Photo: Malcolm Neal · CC BY-SA 2.0Muff ranks among the lowest-earning Irish towns by household income
Unemployment in Muff stood at 6.7% at the 2022 census, where the middle of Irish towns has 9.2%. On jobs and income together, Muff grades B. From Muff, trips to work, school or college average 25.6 minutes, with 4.8% taking an hour or more.
What stands out about work in Muff
Less unemployment than most towns
6.7% 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 ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household in Muff had €30,330 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.
Jobs and income in Muff earn B
Better than 59% of Irish towns across four measures.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; its weakest, household income.
Graded against Irish towns of 1,000 people or more; a shorter trip and less unemployment count in its favor.
Ranks start at 2,500 residents, so this grade has no rank.
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 Muff: 72% have a job
All 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Donegal 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, 60% had been out of work that long. Of all residents aged 15 and over, retirees and students among them, 62% 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 Muff: €30,330 a year
Before tax, 2022: lower than in 100% of Irish towns.
Muff’s median is 29% below County Donegal’s (€42,497). Every town of 2,500 or more in the county has a higher median. After tax, the median is €29,020. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 98% above Muff’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
The work of Muff’s residents, industry by industry
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 1.4%.
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.
8.4% of commuters in Muff go on foot, by bike or by public transport
Buses carry 3.2% of commuters, where the middle of Irish towns has 6%. The middle of Irish towns has 10% walking and 2.4% cycling; here it is 5% and 0.2%. The car or van carries most commuters: 81%. Working mainly from home: 9.5% here, 11% in the middle of Irish towns.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
A quicker run to work or school from Muff than in the middle of Irish towns
For the middle of County Donegal, the average trip is 20.9 minutes. In County Donegal, 6 of 6 towns counted average a shorter trip. Short trips of under 15 minutes make up 28%, where the middle of County Donegal has 56%. The commonest trip is 15 to 44 minutes, for 64% of trips; the middle of County Donegal has 36%.
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 many sign on in County Donegal: the count 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).
Muff at work: 62% of adults have a job
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.
Walking in Muff earns D
Better than 12% of Irish towns on two measures together.
Fewest residents live within 800 m of a school: 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.
Next to Muff: how nearby places compare
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muff | 72% | 6.7% | €30K | 25.6 min | B | D |
| Buncrana 13.5 km | 63% | 12% | €38K | 20.3 min | C | D |
| Newtowncunningham 16.9 km | 60% | 15% | €44K | 23.3 min | D | 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 Muff, 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 Muff
What is the unemployment rate in Muff?
6.7% 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 Muff a good place to find work?
Muff earns a B for jobs and income, better than 59% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together.
How do people in Muff get to work?
81% of commuters go by car or van, 5% walk, 0.2% cycle and 3.2% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 9.5% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Muff?
Trips to work, school or college take 25.6 minutes on average; 4.8% take an hour or more and 28% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Muff?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Muff’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Muff 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 Muff 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).