Photo: Sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.0Working-age people in Athboy are less likely to have a job than in 61% of Irish towns
Trips to work, school or college from Athboy take 34.6 minutes on average, with 20% taking an hour or more. At the 2022 census, 11% of the labour force in Athboy had no job, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. On jobs and income together, Athboy grades C−, #267 of 321 Irish towns.
The short version on work in Athboy
Work near the middle
66% of people aged 15 to 64 in Athboy had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Trips to work, school or college take 34.6 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 20% 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 and income in Athboy earn C−
Its strongest measure is household income; 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.
Against the middle of Irish towns, Athboy has the longer trip to work or school
In the middle of County Meath, the trip averages 32.9 minutes. Of the 12 towns of County Meath counted, 9 have a shorter average trip. Under 15 minutes: 32% of trips, next to 29% in the middle of County Meath. The commonest trip is 15 to 44 minutes, for 38% of trips; the middle of County Meath has 47%.
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 Athboy earn a living, by industry
Commerce and trade is the second-largest at 23%, against 26% 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.
Working-age people in Athboy: 66% have a job
Of the 11 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Meath, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Long-term unemployment, a year or more out of work, covered 3.2% 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, 55% 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 Athboy is €55,188
Before tax, 2022: higher than in 51% of Irish towns.
That puts Athboy 22% below the median for County Meath as a whole, €70,657. 10 of the county’s 11 other towns of 2,500 people or more have a higher median. Net of tax, it is €48,660. The State median is €60,123, 9% above Athboy’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Walking, cycling, the bus or the train: 14% of Athboy’s commuters
7.6% walk, against 4.3% in the middle of County Meath. Driving to work: 78% here, 74% in the middle of County Meath. The bus and rail carry about as many commuters as in the middle of Irish towns.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
Signing on in County Meath: the count since 2019
3,692 people were signing on in County Meath in September 2026. For 71 months in a row now, it has been under its 2019 average. Its lowest month since 2019 was November 2024, at 3,559. County Meath saw its highest month in July 2020: 5,146 people signing on, 14% 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).
Jobs, studies and retirement in Athboy: 55% in work
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.
Getting around Athboy on foot earns B
Better than 58% of Irish towns on two measures together, #3 of 12 in County Meath.
Of the everyday places, a pharmacy is the one the fewest residents have within 800 m (87%).
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.
Among Irish towns of 2,500 to 3,500, Athboy ranks 39th of 50 for jobs and income
| # | 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 | Blarney County Cork | 2,779 | 73% | 5.4% | €67K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 37 | Carna County Dublin | 2,897 | 64% | 13% | €51K | C− |
| 38 | Decies County Dublin | 2,713 | 65% | 12% | €47K | C− |
| 39 | Athboy County Meath | 2,596 | 66% | 11% | €55K | C− |
| 40 | Bailieborough County Cavan | 2,974 | 66% | 13% | €47K | C− |
| 41 | Bundoran County Donegal | 2,599 | 63% | 14% | €37K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 50 | Mayfield County Cork | 2,846 | 49% | 20% | €38K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Athboy, and others in County Meath.
Next to Athboy: how nearby places compare
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athboy | 66% | 11% | €55K | 34.6 min | C− | B |
| Ballivor 10 km | 65% | 12% | €59K | 37.5 min | C− | D |
| Trim 11.7 km | 70% | 7.9% | €62K | 32 min | B | C |
| Kells 12.1 km | 64% | 12% | €52K | 31.7 min | D | C+ |
| Navan 16.6 km | 67% | 10% | €63K | 33.8 min | C | C+ |
| Longwood 18.8 km | 70% | 6.5% | €74K | 35 min | B | C |
| Killucan-Rathwire 18.9 km | 68% | 9.2% | €65K | 33.6 min | C+ | 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 Athboy, 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 Athboy
What is the unemployment rate in Athboy?
11% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 3.2% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Athboy a good place to find work?
Athboy earns a C− for jobs and income, better than 21% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #267 of 321 Irish towns.
How do people in Athboy get to work?
78% of commuters go by car or van, 7.6% walk, 0.2% cycle and 5.7% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 8% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Athboy?
Trips to work, school or college take 34.6 minutes on average; 20% take an hour or more and 32% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Athboy?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Athboy’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Athboy 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 Athboy 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).