Photo: BallyboughDublin · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Ballybough trail those of 69% of Irish towns
For jobs and income, Ballybough earns a grade of D, #111 of 116 in County Dublin. Trips to work, school or college from Ballybough take 33.2 minutes on average; for 11%, it takes an hour or more. At the 2022 census, 12% of the labour force in Ballybough had no job, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns.
Ballybough at work: what stands out
More unemployment than most towns
12% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 4.1% 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 Ballybough had €47,550 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 ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Trips to work, school or college take 33.2 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 11% 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.
On jobs and income, Ballybough grades D
Better than 13% of Irish towns on four measures together, #111 of 116 in County Dublin.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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.
Jobs for 68% of people aged 15 to 64 in Ballybough
Of the 115 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Dublin, 26 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Long-term unemployment, a year or more out of work, covered 4.1% of people aged 15 and over. Among the unemployed, 48% had been out of work that long. Counting everyone aged 15 and over, retirees and students included, 61% 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.
The median household in Ballybough has €47,550 a year
That puts Ballybough 33% below the median for County Dublin as a whole, €71,123. Of the county’s 115 other towns of 2,500 or more, 112 have a higher median. Net of tax, it is €42,020. The State median is €60,123, 26% above Ballybough’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Work and school are further off in time from Ballybough than for the middle of Irish towns
The trip from the middle of County Dublin averages 31.1 minutes. Of the 116 towns of County Dublin counted, 97 have a shorter average trip. Under 15 minutes: 16% of trips, next to 23% in the middle of County Dublin. The commonest trip is 15 to 44 minutes, for 65% of trips; the middle of County Dublin has 59%.
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.
What residents of Ballybough work in
The second-largest is Commerce and trade, at 21% (against 26% across Irish towns), and farming, forestry and fishing is the smallest of the seven, at 0.1%.
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.
Car-free commutes: 70% of workers in Ballybough
The bus takes 24% of commuters and the train, DART or Luas 6.8%; the middle of Irish towns has 6% and 0.9%. 27% walk, against 7.4% in the middle of County Dublin. 19% go by car or van, against 52% in the middle of County Dublin.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
The Live Register count in County Dublin since 2019
48,940 people were signing on in County Dublin in September 2026. Over the year to September 2026, the count rose by 5%. It has been above its 2019 average for the last 10 months. Its lowest month since 2019 was February 2022, at 40,783.
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).
Work, study, retirement: 61% of adults in Ballybough are in work
Compared with Irish towns, 9.5% are retired (against 15%).
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), principal economic status of people aged 15 and over; occupations of those at work, in three broad groups.
Walkability in Ballybough: graded A+
Better than 98% of Irish towns on two measures together, #12 of 116 in County Dublin.
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.
Ballybough next to Irish towns of 5,700 to 11,100
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oranmore County Galway | 5,819 | 79% | 5.9% | €80K | A+ |
| 2 | Grantstown and Ballinakill County Waterford | 9,571 | 72% | 6% | €74K | A+ |
| 3 | Terenure County Dublin | 10,391 | 78% | 4.7% | €87K | A+ |
| 4 | Booterstown County Dublin | 8,505 | 71% | 4.8% | €94K | A |
| 5 | Castleknock County Dublin | 6,355 | 77% | 5.9% | €110K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 89 | Portarlington County Laois | 9,288 | 63% | 10% | €53K | D |
| 90 | Parnell Square County Dublin | 10,117 | 68% | 12% | €46K | D |
| 91 | Ballybough County Dublin | 8,188 | 68% | 12% | €48K | D |
| 92 | New Ross County Wexford | 8,610 | 61% | 17% | €40K | D |
| 93 | Edenderry County Offaly | 7,888 | 63% | 12% | €54K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 97 | Athy County Kildare | 11,035 | 60% | 15% | €48K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Ballybough, and others in County Dublin.
Ballybough and its neighbours: work and income
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballybough | 68% | 12% | €48K | 33.2 min | D | A+ |
| Summerhill 0.7 km | 60% | 15% | €45K | 32.6 min | D− | A+ |
| Parnell Square 1.1 km | 68% | 12% | €46K | 31.8 min | D | A+ |
| Drumcondra 1.1 km | 76% | 6.1% | €78K | 31.7 min | A | A |
| East Wall 1.3 km | 71% | 8.9% | €71K | 31.2 min | B+ | A+ |
| Phibsborough 1.4 km | 60% | 10% | €52K | 31.9 min | D | A+ |
| O'Connell Street 1.6 km | 70% | 11% | €58K | 31.6 min | C+ | A+ |
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 Ballybough, 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 Ballybough
What is the unemployment rate in Ballybough?
12% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 4.1% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Ballybough a good place to find work?
Ballybough earns a D for jobs and income, better than 13% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #111 of 116 in County Dublin.
How do people in Ballybough get to work?
19% of commuters go by car or van, 27% walk, 12% cycle and 31% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 11% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Ballybough?
Trips to work, school or college take 33.2 minutes on average; 11% take an hour or more and 16% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Ballybough?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Ballybough’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Ballybough 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 Ballybough 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).