Photo: Elfy4eva · CC BY-SA 4.0The share of 15-to-64s with a job in Murrough tops that of 76% of Irish towns
The trip to work, school or college averages 23.4 minutes from Murrough, with 3.9% taking an hour or more. At the 2022 census, 8.2% of the labour force in Murrough had no job; the middle of Irish towns is 9.2%. On jobs and income together, Murrough grades A−, #4 of 20 in County Galway.
Murrough at work: what stands out
Work near the middle
71% of people aged 15 to 64 in Murrough had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Trips to work, school or college take 23.4 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 3.9% 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.
Murrough earns A− for jobs and income
With four measures combined, it comes out better than 82% of Irish towns, #4 of 20 in County Galway.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, household income.
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.
Less time on the road to work or school from Murrough than in the middle of Irish towns
Most often, a trip takes 15 to 44 minutes: 56%, against 54% in the middle of County Galway. 8 of the 20 towns of County Galway counted have a shorter average trip. Trips of under 15 minutes are 36% of the total, against 37% in the middle of County Galway.
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 Murrough’s residents work, by industry
Manufacturing is the second-largest at 20%, against 11% 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.
The share in work in Murrough: 71% of 15-to-64s
Of the 19 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Galway, 17 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Long-term unemployment, a year or more out of work, covered 2.6% 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.
Murrough at the median: €60,440 a household
Before tax, 2022: higher than in 60% of Irish towns.
That puts Murrough 1% above the median for County Galway as a whole, €59,641. 6 of the county’s 19 other towns of 2,500 people or more have a higher median. Net of tax, it is €52,020. The State median is €60,123, 1% below Murrough’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Out of the car: 28% of Murrough’s commuters
Driving to work: 59% here, 60% in the middle of County Galway. Home is the main workplace for 13%, where the middle of Irish towns has 11%. 15% take the bus, against 6.8% in the middle of County Galway.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
People signing on in Galway city, against 2019
4,007 people were signing on in Galway city in September 2026. Over the year to September 2026, the count fell by 1%. It has stayed below its 2019 average for the last 38 months. Its lowest month since 2019 was February 2022, at 3,888. Galway city saw its highest month in July 2019: 5,515 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).
In Murrough, 61% of adults are in work
Compared with Irish towns, 2.7% 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.
The Walkability grade for Murrough: B−
Better than 46% of Irish towns on two measures together, #13 of 20 in County Galway.
Of the everyday places, a pharmacy is the one the fewest residents have within 800 m (14%).
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, Murrough is 11th among 66 Irish towns of 2,500 to 3,900
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annacotty County Limerick | 3,398 | 71% | 6% | €90K | A+ |
| 2 | Grange Upper County Waterford | 2,510 | 71% | 7.4% | €65K | A |
| 3 | Riverstown County Cork | 3,664 | 70% | 5.1% | €83K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | Kilcullen County Kildare | 3,815 | 73% | 6.4% | €66K | A− |
| 10 | Kill County Kildare | 3,818 | 74% | 6.1% | €75K | A− |
| 11 | Murrough County Galway | 2,909 | 71% | 8.2% | €60K | A− |
| 12 | Sixmilebridge County Clare | 2,832 | 69% | 8.4% | €64K | A− |
| 13 | Cleaboy County Waterford | 3,454 | 69% | 8% | €50K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 15 | Claddagh County Galway | 2,755 | 70% | 9.7% | €53K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | Rahoon County Galway | 3,486 | 69% | 9.4% | €66K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 37 | Taylor's Hill County Galway | 3,141 | 57% | 11% | €59K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 66 | Mayfield County Cork | 2,846 | 49% | 20% | €38K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Murrough, and others in County Galway.
How Murrough compares with the places nearby
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murrough | 71% | 8.2% | €60K | 23.4 min | A− | B− |
| Mervue 1.5 km | 68% | 10% | €50K | 22.3 min | B | A |
| Ballybane 1.5 km | 67% | 9.9% | €61K | 22.9 min | B | C+ |
| Eyre Square 2.2 km | 69% | 9.2% | €57K | 24 min | B+ | A |
| Castlegar 3.1 km | 68% | 9.8% | €53K | 24.8 min | B− | B− |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island 3.3 km | 66% | 9.3% | €50K | 21.1 min | B | A+ |
| Claddagh 3.7 km | 70% | 9.7% | €53K | 21.4 min | B+ | 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 Murrough, 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 Murrough
What is the unemployment rate in Murrough?
8.2% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 2.6% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Murrough a good place to find work?
Murrough earns an A− for jobs and income, better than 82% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #4 of 20 in County Galway.
How do people in Murrough get to work?
59% of commuters go by car or van, 8.2% walk, 4.6% cycle and 15% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 13% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Murrough?
Trips to work, school or college take 23.4 minutes on average; 3.9% take an hour or more and 36% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Murrough?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Murrough’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Murrough 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 Murrough 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).