Photo: Munifico · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Castlebar have lower incomes than those in 64% of Irish towns
11% of the labour force in Castlebar was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. Castlebar grades B− for jobs and income, #3 of 6 in County Mayo. The trip to work, school or college averages 19.9 minutes from Castlebar, with 5.1% taking an hour or more.
Jobs and income in Castlebar: what the figures say
Work near the middle
67% of people aged 15 to 64 in Castlebar 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 19.9 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 5.1% 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.
Jobs & income in Castlebar: graded B−
With four measures combined, it comes out better than 54% of Irish towns, #3 of 6 in County Mayo.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the unemployment rate.
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.
Getting to work or school from Castlebar takes less time than in the middle of Irish towns
1 of the 6 towns of County Mayo counted have a shorter average trip. Under 15 minutes: 55% of trips, much as in the middle of County Mayo.
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 the people of Castlebar earn a living, by industry
The second-largest is Commerce and trade, at 24% (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.
In Castlebar, 67% of people of working age are in work
Of the 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Mayo, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Long-term unemployment, a year or more out of work, covered 3.8% of people aged 15 and over. Put another way, 57% of the unemployed had been out of work for a year or more. Counting everyone aged 15 and over, retirees and students included, 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.
Before tax, the median household in Castlebar has €49,850
That puts Castlebar 2% above the median for County Mayo as a whole, €48,665. Of the county’s 5 other towns of 2,500 or more, 2 have a higher median. Net of tax, it is €43,765. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 21% above Castlebar’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
€43K to €66K: incomes from one part of Castlebar to another
Median gross household income in each of the 3 electoral divisions where 50 or more of Castlebar’s households live: the highest is 1.5 times the lowest.
| Electoral division | Households here | Median income (whole division) | Aged 15–64 in work (here) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castlebar Urban | 2,735 | €42,958 | 64% |
| Castlebar Rural | 2,329 | €59,999 | 70% |
| Breaghwy | 94 | €66,084 | 68% |
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022 (GPIIA01): each division’s median covers all its households, including any outside Castlebar; households and the share in work are Castlebar’s own part (Census 2022, CSO SAPS).
19% of commuters in Castlebar go on foot, by bike or by public transport
74% of commuters go by car or van. The bus takes 0.9% of commuters, against 6% in the middle of Irish towns. The middle of Irish towns has 10% walking and 2.4% cycling; here it is 17% and 1.4%.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
County Mayo on the Live Register since 2019
4,861 people were signing on in County Mayo in September 2026. Set against a year before, the count in September 2026 fell by 3%. For 73 months in a row now, it has been under its 2019 average. Castlebar office: signing on peaked in May 2020 at 1,387, 15% 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).
54% of Castlebar’s adults have a job
The mix is close to Irish towns’ as a whole.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), principal economic status of people aged 15 and over; occupations of those at work, in three broad groups.
How walkable Castlebar is: C+
Better than 39% of Irish towns on two measures together, #3 of 6 in County Mayo.
Fewest residents live within 800 m of a post office: 22%.
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.
For jobs and income, Castlebar is 52nd of 83 Irish towns of 9,100 to 17,600
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballsbridge County Dublin | 12,743 | 80% | 5.2% | €99K | A+ |
| 2 | Rathmines East County Dublin | 16,923 | 77% | 5.4% | €94K | A+ |
| 3 | Grantstown and Ballinakill County Waterford | 9,571 | 72% | 6% | €74K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 50 | Cobh County Cork | 14,148 | 67% | 7.7% | €58K | B |
| 51 | Ongar County Dublin | 13,390 | 69% | 8.5% | €79K | B |
| 52 | Castlebar County Mayo | 13,054 | 67% | 11% | €50K | B− |
| 53 | Killiney County Dublin | 9,776 | 68% | 8.8% | €71K | B− |
| 54 | Tallaght County Dublin | 15,588 | 70% | 11% | €58K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 66 | Ballina County Mayo | 10,556 | 62% | 16% | €44K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 83 | Summerhill County Dublin | 11,911 | 60% | 15% | €45K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Castlebar, and others in County Mayo.
Castlebar and its neighbours: work and income
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlebar | 67% | 11% | €50K | 19.9 min | B− | C+ |
| Westport 16.4 km | 76% | 7.3% | €50K | 19.6 min | A | B |
| Foxford 18.6 km | 69% | 11% | €42K | 22.2 min | B− | C |
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 Castlebar, 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 Castlebar
What is the unemployment rate in Castlebar?
11% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 3.8% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Castlebar a good place to find work?
Castlebar earns a B− for jobs and income, better than 54% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #3 of 6 in County Mayo.
How do people in Castlebar get to work?
74% of commuters go by car or van, 17% walk, 1.4% cycle and 1.1% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 6.8% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Castlebar?
Trips to work, school or college take 19.9 minutes on average; 5.1% take an hour or more and 55% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Castlebar?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Castlebar’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Castlebar 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 Castlebar 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).