Photo: Original uploader was Sarah777 at en.wikipedia · Public domainA larger share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Newcastle than in 94% of Irish towns
The Jobs & income grade for Newcastle is A−, #36 of 116 in County Dublin. At the 2022 census, 6.8% of the labour force in Newcastle had no job, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns.
The work figures that set Newcastle apart
More people in work than most towns
75% of people aged 15 to 64 in Newcastle had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
6.8% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 2.1% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household in Newcastle had €76,711 a year before tax in 2022; the middle of Irish towns is €57,760. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Trips to work, school or college take 32.3 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 14% 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.
Newcastle grades A− for jobs and income
Its four measures together rank it better than 81% of Irish towns, #36 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.
In Newcastle, 75% of people of working age are in work
Of the 115 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Dublin, 97 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
2.1% of everyone aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Put another way, 44% of the unemployed had been out of work for a year or more. Of all residents aged 15 and over, retirees and students among them, 66% 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 Newcastle has €76,711
Before tax, 2022: higher than in 83% of Irish towns.
Newcastle’s median is 8% above County Dublin’s (€71,123). 45 of the county’s 115 other towns of 2,500 people or more have a higher median. After tax, the median is €63,054. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 22% below Newcastle’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
32.3 minutes from Newcastle, longer than the 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns
Trips of 15 to 44 minutes are the most common, at 53% (middle of County Dublin: 59%). The middle of County Dublin averages 31.1 minutes a trip. In County Dublin, 79 of 116 towns counted average a shorter trip. Under 15 minutes: 26% of trips, next to 23% in the middle of County Dublin. Against 9.6% in the middle of County Dublin, 14% of trips last an hour or more.
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 Newcastle work in
Professional services, health and education is the second-largest at 23%, against 25% across Irish towns; the smallest of the seven is farming, forestry and fishing, at 0.9%.
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.
Out of the car: 14% of Newcastle’s commuters
76% of commuters go by car or van. Working mainly from home is about as common as in the middle of Irish towns, at 10%. The middle of Irish towns has 6% by bus and 0.9% by rail; here it is 7% and 2.8%. Walking takes 2.8% of commuters and cycling 1.3%, where the middle of Irish towns has 10% and 2.4%.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
The Live Register in County Dublin, month by month
48,940 people were signing on in County Dublin in September 2026. Set against a year before, the count in September 2026 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. County Dublin: signing on peaked in July 2026 at 51,932, 11% 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).
What adults in Newcastle do: 66% are in work
Compared with Irish towns, 10% are retired (against 15%) and 2.9% are long-term sick or disabled (against 4.7%).
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), principal economic status of people aged 15 and over; occupations of those at work, in three broad groups.
Newcastle earns C for walkability
Better than 30% of Irish towns on two measures together, #261 of 321 Irish towns.
Of the everyday places, a pharmacy is the one the fewest residents have within 800 m (61%).
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 Newcastle ranks: 23rd of 96 Irish towns of 3,200 to 6,100
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballinlough County Cork | 5,435 | 74% | 4.8% | €72K | A+ |
| 2 | Carrigtwohill County Cork | 5,568 | 73% | 5.5% | €71K | A+ |
| 3 | Oranmore County Galway | 5,819 | 79% | 5.9% | €80K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 10 | Ballyboden County Dublin | 5,246 | 73% | 4.8% | €90K | A |
| 11 | Rathcoole County Dublin | 5,792 | 78% | 5.7% | €78K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | Kill County Kildare | 3,818 | 74% | 6.1% | €75K | A− |
| 22 | Sutton County Dublin | 5,789 | 74% | 5.5% | €73K | A− |
| 23 | Newcastle County Dublin | 4,526 | 75% | 6.8% | €77K | A− |
| 24 | Clonakilty County Cork | 5,112 | 71% | 7.4% | €49K | A− |
| 25 | Portobello County Dublin | 5,732 | 77% | 8.7% | €67K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 29 | Chapelizod County Dublin | 4,862 | 78% | 6.9% | €68K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 96 | Courtown County Wexford | 4,365 | 60% | 15% | €44K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Newcastle, and others in County Dublin.
The work picture around Newcastle
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle | 75% | 6.8% | €77K | 32.3 min | A− | C |
| Rathcoole 2.3 km | 78% | 5.7% | €78K | 30.3 min | A | B |
| Saggart 3.6 km | 73% | 9.4% | €69K | 33.1 min | B | B |
| Fettercairn 5.9 km | 63% | 13% | €62K | 30.8 min | C− | B+ |
| Celbridge 6 km | 71% | 6.3% | €81K | 33.2 min | A− | B |
| Jobstown 6 km | 62% | 15% | €59K | 31.6 min | D | B+ |
| Deansrath 6.1 km | 62% | 13% | €56K | 29.3 min | C− | B |
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 Newcastle, 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 Newcastle
What is the unemployment rate in Newcastle?
6.8% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 2.1% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Newcastle a good place to find work?
Newcastle 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, #36 of 116 in County Dublin.
How do people in Newcastle get to work?
76% of commuters go by car or van, 2.8% walk, 1.3% cycle and 9.8% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 10% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Newcastle?
Trips to work, school or college take 32.3 minutes on average; 14% take an hour or more and 26% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Newcastle?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Newcastle’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Newcastle 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 Newcastle 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).