Photo: The original uploader was Suckindiesel at English Wikipedia . · CC BY 2.5Rathfarnham has higher household incomes than 94% of Irish towns
18% of its workers worked mainly from home on census day in 2022. On jobs and income together, Rathfarnham grades A, #9 of 116 in County Dublin. Unemployment in Rathfarnham stood at 4.9% at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns.
Jobs and income in Rathfarnham: what the figures say
More people in work than most towns
74% of people aged 15 to 64 in Rathfarnham had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
4.9% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 1.2% 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 Rathfarnham had €88,130 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 ↓
Many work from home
18% of workers worked mainly from home on census day, against 11% in the middle of Irish towns. Getting to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022, CSO household income 2022 and the Live Register.
Jobs and income in Rathfarnham earn A
On four measures together, it is better than 93% of Irish towns, #9 of 116 in County Dublin.
Its strongest measure is the unemployment rate; 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 work in Rathfarnham: 74% of the 15-to-64s
Of the 115 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Dublin, 87 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
1.2% of everyone aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Among the unemployed, 43% had been out of work that long. Of all residents aged 15 and over, retirees and students among them, 54% 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.
Median household income in Rathfarnham is €88,130
Rathfarnham’s median is 24% above County Dublin’s (€71,123). Of the county’s 115 other towns of 2,500 or more, 21 have a higher median. After tax, the median is €69,010. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 32% below Rathfarnham’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Car-free commutes: 27% of workers in Rathfarnham
Against 5.9% in the middle of County Dublin, 11% cycle here. 55% go by car or van, against 52% in the middle of County Dublin. The bus takes 11% of commuters, against 6% in the middle of Irish towns.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
Where Rathfarnham’s residents work, by industry
Professional services, health and education is the second-largest at 27%, against 25% across Irish towns; the smallest of the seven is farming, forestry and fishing, 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.
Household incomes in Rathfarnham, part by part: €81K to €95K
Median gross household income in each of the 5 electoral divisions where 50 or more of Rathfarnham’s households live: the highest is 1.2 times the lowest. The share of people aged 15 to 64 in work runs from 72% in Rathfarnham-Butterfield to 77% in Rathfarnham Village.
| Electoral division | Households here | Median income (whole division) | Aged 15–64 in work (here) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rathfarnham-Hermitage | 1,581 | €95,262 | 73% |
| Rathfarnham-St. Enda's | 1,453 | €81,115 | 73% |
| Rathfarnham Village | 1,253 | €89,027 | 77% |
| Rathfarnham-Butterfield | 1,226 | €86,243 | 72% |
| Rathfarnham-Ballyroan | 980 | €88,226 | 74% |
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022 (GPIIA01): each division’s median covers all its households, including any outside Rathfarnham; households and the share in work are Rathfarnham’s own part (Census 2022, CSO SAPS).
A slower run to work or school from Rathfarnham than in the middle of Irish towns
Long trips of an hour or more are 7.2% of the total, against 9.6% in the middle of County Dublin. The commonest trip is 15 to 44 minutes, for 63% of trips; the middle of County Dublin has 59%. Of the 116 towns of County Dublin counted, 34 have a shorter average trip. Against 23% in the middle of County Dublin, 21% of trips take under 15 minutes.
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 the count signing on in County Dublin has moved
48,940 people were signing on in County Dublin in September 2026. Over the year to September 2026, the count rose by 5%. For 10 months in a row now, it has been over its 2019 average. Its lowest month since 2019 was February 2022, at 40,783. County Dublin saw its highest month in July 2026: 51,932 people signing on, 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).
24% of Rathfarnham’s adults have retired
Compared with Irish towns, 1.8% 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.
On getting around on foot, Rathfarnham grades A−
Better than 78% of Irish towns on two measures together, #67 of 116 in County Dublin.
Of the everyday places, a post office is the one the fewest residents have within 800 m (55%).
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.
Ranked on jobs and income, Rathfarnham is 8th among 79 Irish towns of 12,300 to 23,600
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballsbridge County Dublin | 12,743 | 80% | 5.2% | €99K | A+ |
| 2 | Ballincollig County Cork | 21,940 | 73% | 5.1% | €76K | A+ |
| 3 | Rathmines East County Dublin | 16,923 | 77% | 5.4% | €94K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Sandymount County Dublin | 22,340 | 75% | 6.3% | €90K | A+ |
| 6 | Templeogue County Dublin | 18,076 | 75% | 4.8% | €87K | A+ |
| 7 | Dooradoyle County Limerick | 18,593 | 72% | 6.1% | €72K | A |
| 8 | Rathfarnham County Dublin | 17,508 | 74% | 4.9% | €88K | A |
| 9 | Stillorgan County Dublin | 18,212 | 71% | 4.9% | €101K | A |
| 10 | Clontarf East County Dublin | 18,626 | 73% | 5% | €89K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 79 | Enniscorthy County Wexford | 12,310 | 59% | 17% | €42K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Rathfarnham, and others in County Dublin.
Work in the places around Rathfarnham
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathfarnham | 74% | 4.9% | €88K | 30.2 min | A | A− |
| Ballyboden 1.5 km | 73% | 4.8% | €90K | 30.9 min | A | A− |
| Edmondstown 1.6 km | 69% | 7.8% | €76K | 31.1 min | B+ | B+ |
| Churchtown 1.7 km | 73% | 6.3% | €89K | 29.1 min | A | A |
| Rathgar 2.4 km | 61% | 5.8% | €90K | 31.4 min | B | A− |
| Ballinteer 2.5 km | 74% | 5.5% | €75K | 29.4 min | A | A− |
| Templeogue 2.5 km | 75% | 4.8% | €87K | 29.3 min | A+ | 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 Rathfarnham, 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 Rathfarnham
What is the unemployment rate in Rathfarnham?
4.9% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 1.2% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Rathfarnham a good place to find work?
Rathfarnham earns an A for jobs and income, better than 93% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #9 of 116 in County Dublin.
How do people in Rathfarnham get to work?
55% of commuters go by car or van, 4.2% walk, 11% cycle and 12% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 18% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Rathfarnham?
Trips to work, school or college take 30.2 minutes on average; 7.2% take an hour or more and 21% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Rathfarnham?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Rathfarnham’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Rathfarnham 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 Rathfarnham 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).