Photo: Kenneth Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Raphoe have lower incomes than those in 98% of Irish towns
For jobs and income, Raphoe earns a grade of D. Unemployment in Raphoe stood at 20% at the 2022 census, next to 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. Getting to work, school or college from Raphoe takes 20.8 minutes on average, and 4.3% take an hour or more.
The work numbers behind Raphoe
Fewer people in work than most towns
53% of people aged 15 to 64 in Raphoe had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
20% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 6.1% 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 Raphoe had €34,990 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 ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Trips to work, school or college take 20.8 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 4.3% 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.
Jobs and income in Raphoe earn D
On four measures together, it is better than 7% of Irish towns.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the unemployment rate.
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.
In Raphoe, 53% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
None of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Donegal has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
6.1% 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, 40% 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.
Household income in Raphoe: €34,990 at the median
Raphoe’s median is 18% below County Donegal’s (€42,497). 5 of the county’s 6 towns of 2,500 people or more have a higher median. After tax, the median is €33,240. The State median is €60,123, 72% above Raphoe’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
A quicker run to work or school from Raphoe than in the middle of Irish towns
Trips of under 15 minutes are 48% of the total, against 56% in the middle of County Donegal. 3 of the 6 towns of County Donegal counted have a shorter average 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.
Where the people of Raphoe earn a living, by industry
Professional services, health and education is the second-largest at 25%, against 25% across Irish towns; the smallest of the seven is farming, forestry and fishing, at 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.
Not by car: 12% of Raphoe’s commuters walk, cycle or ride the bus or train
Mainly from home: 7.4% of residents in work, next to 11% in the middle of Irish towns. The middle of Irish towns has 6% going by bus; here it is 2.1%. Driving dominates: 79% go to work by car or van.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
Signing on in County Donegal since 2019
6,785 people were signing on in County Donegal in September 2026. Over the year to September 2026, the count 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).
Jobs, studies and retirement in Raphoe: 40% in work
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), principal economic status of people aged 15 and over; occupations of those at work, in three broad groups.
On getting around on foot, Raphoe grades C−
Better than 16% of Irish towns on two measures together.
Of the everyday places, a pharmacy is the one the fewest residents have within 800 m (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.
How Raphoe compares with the places nearby
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raphoe | 53% | 20% | €35K | 20.8 min | D | C− |
| Convoy 4 km | 63% | 15% | €39K | 21.2 min | C− | D− |
| Lifford 8.3 km | 52% | 23% | €32K | 23.5 min | D− | D |
| Letterkenny 12.8 km | 65% | 12% | €50K | 19 min | B− | D |
| Ballybofey-Stranorlar 13.9 km | 63% | 14% | €41K | 22.3 min | C− | D |
| Newtowncunningham 15.1 km | 60% | 15% | €44K | 23.3 min | D | D |
| Ramelton 18.8 km | 66% | 12% | €46K | 22.3 min | C+ | 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 Raphoe, 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 Raphoe
What is the unemployment rate in Raphoe?
20% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 6.1% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Raphoe a good place to find work?
Raphoe earns a D for jobs and income, better than 7% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together.
How do people in Raphoe get to work?
79% of commuters go by car or van, 9.2% walk, 0.3% cycle and 2.1% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 7.4% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Raphoe?
Trips to work, school or college take 20.8 minutes on average; 4.3% take an hour or more and 48% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Raphoe?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Raphoe’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Raphoe 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 Raphoe 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).