Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0A smaller share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Tralee than in 89% of Irish towns
Unemployment in Tralee stood at 14% at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. Tralee grades C− for jobs and income, #256 of 321 Irish towns. The trip to work, school or college averages 20.5 minutes from Tralee; for 4.2%, it takes an hour or more.
Jobs and income in Tralee: what the figures say
Fewer people in work than most towns
61% of people aged 15 to 64 in Tralee had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
14% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 4% 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 Tralee had €42,580 a year before tax in 2022; the middle of Irish towns is €57,760. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Trips to work, school or college take 20.5 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 4.2% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Tralee: C−
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
61% of Tralee’s 15-to-64s are in work
None of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Kerry has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
4% of everyone aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Among the unemployed, 51% had been out of work that long. Of all residents aged 15 and over, retirees and students among them, 49% 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 Tralee is €42,580
Before tax, 2022: lower than in 85% of Irish towns.
Tralee’s median is 12% below County Kerry’s (€48,320). 2 of the county’s 4 other towns of 2,500 people or more have a higher median. After tax, the median is €39,037. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 41% above Tralee’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Getting to work or school from Tralee takes less time than in the middle of Irish towns
The trip from the middle of County Kerry averages 21.7 minutes. Among County Kerry’s 5 towns counted, none averages a shorter trip. Trips of under 15 minutes are 50% of the total, against 53% in the middle of County Kerry.
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 the people of Tralee do for work
The second-largest is Commerce and trade, at 23% (against 26% across Irish towns), and farming, forestry and fishing is the smallest of the seven, at 0.8%.
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 Tralee, part by part: €31K to €66K
Median gross household income in each of the 5 electoral divisions where 50 or more of Tralee’s households live: the highest is 2.1 times the lowest. The share of people aged 15 to 64 in work runs from 57% in Ratass to 68% in Clogherbrien.
| Electoral division | Households here | Median income (whole division) | Aged 15–64 in work (here) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tralee Rural | 6,914 | €47,450 | 62% |
| Tralee Urban | 2,758 | €30,834 | 58% |
| Ballyseedy | 314 | €56,324 | 61% |
| Ratass | 114 | €58,032 | 57% |
| Clogherbrien | 87 | €65,988 | 68% |
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022 (GPIIA01): each division’s median covers all its households, including any outside Tralee; households and the share in work are Tralee’s own part (Census 2022, CSO SAPS).
21% of people travelling to work from Tralee walk, cycle or take the bus or train
Walking takes 17% of commuters, where the middle of Irish towns has 10%. Most go by car or van: 71% of commuters. Mainly from home: 8.1% of residents in work, next to 11% in the middle of Irish towns. The bus takes 0.8% of commuters, against 6% in the middle of Irish towns.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
Signing on in County Kerry: the count since 2019
4,870 people were signing on in County Kerry in September 2026. Over the year to September 2026, the count fell by 7%. For 30 months in a row now, it has been under its 2019 average. Tralee office: signing on peaked in April 2020 at 3,651, 12% 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.
People signing on each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Most of Tralee works: 49% of adults are in work
Compared with Irish towns, 7.2% 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, Tralee grades C+
Fewest residents live within 800 m of a post office: 28%.
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.
Irish towns of 18,300 to 35,200, and where Tralee sits
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballincollig County Cork | 21,940 | 73% | 5.1% | €76K | A+ |
| 2 | Douglas County Cork | 22,029 | 73% | 5.1% | €80K | A+ |
| 3 | Sandymount County Dublin | 22,340 | 75% | 6.3% | €90K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 36 | Mulhuddart County Dublin | 19,252 | 65% | 12% | €65K | C |
| 37 | Balbriggan County Dublin | 24,322 | 64% | 11% | €61K | C |
| 38 | Tralee County Kerry | 26,079 | 61% | 14% | €43K | C− |
| 39 | Portlaoise County Laois | 23,494 | 64% | 12% | €57K | C− |
| 40 | Carlow County Carlow | 27,351 | 62% | 12% | €50K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 42 | Ballymun County Dublin | 22,321 | 63% | 16% | €53K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Tralee, and others in County Kerry.
Work next door to Tralee
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tralee | 61% | 14% | €43K | 20.5 min | C− | C+ |
| Milltown 14.3 km | 65% | 12% | €52K | 22.7 min | C+ | B− |
| Castleisland 16.7 km | 67% | 11% | €46K | 22.1 min | B− | 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 Tralee, 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 Tralee
What is the unemployment rate in Tralee?
14% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 4% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Tralee a good place to find work?
Tralee earns a C− for jobs and income, better than 24% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #256 of 321 Irish towns.
How do people in Tralee get to work?
71% of commuters go by car or van, 17% walk, 3.3% cycle and 1.1% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 8.1% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Tralee?
Trips to work, school or college take 20.5 minutes on average; 4.2% take an hour or more and 50% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Tralee?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Tralee’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Tralee 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 Tralee 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).