Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Navan top those of 65% of Irish towns
For jobs and income, Navan earns a grade of C, #10 of 12 in County Meath. The mean journey from Navan lasts 33.8 minutes, and 17% exceed an hour. At the 2022 census, 10% of the labour force in Navan had no job, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns.
Jobs and income in Navan: what the figures say
Work near the middle
67% of people aged 15 to 64 in Navan 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 33.8 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 17% 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.
Navan earns C for jobs and income
Better than 32% of Irish towns once its four measures are combined, #10 of 12 in County Meath.
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.
Navan spends longer getting to work or school than the middle of Irish towns
Trips of 15 to 44 minutes are the most common, at 45% (middle of County Meath: 47%). Among County Meath’s 12 towns counted, 7 have shorter trips on average. Under 15 minutes: 29% of trips, much as in the middle of County Meath.
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 Navan’s residents work, by industry
Professional services, health and education is the second-largest at 24%, against 25% 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.
The share in work in Navan: 67% of 15-to-64s
Of the 11 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Meath, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Long-term unemployment, a year or more out of work, covered 3.6% of people aged 15 and over. Put another way, 53% of the unemployed had been out of work for a year or more. Counting everyone aged 15 and over, retirees and students included, 58% 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.
The median household in Navan has €62,812 a year
That puts Navan 11% below the median for County Meath as a whole, €70,657. 7 of the county’s 11 other towns of 2,500 people or more have a higher median. Net of tax, it is €54,373. The State median is €60,123, 4% below Navan’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Navan gets to work without a car for 18% of commuters
Driving to work is about as common as in the middle of County Meath, at 73%. Against 11% in the middle of Irish towns, 8.9% work mainly from home. Public transport takes about the same share as in the middle of Irish towns. On foot: 9.2% of commuters, well above the 4.3% in the middle of County Meath.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
The Live Register in County Meath, month by month
3,692 people were signing on in County Meath in September 2026. It has stayed below its 2019 average for the last 71 months. Its lowest month since 2019 was November 2024, at 3,559. Navan office saw its highest month in July 2020: 2,736 people signing on, 16% 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).
In Navan, 58% of adults are in work
Compared with Irish towns, 11% are retired (against 15%).
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), principal economic status of people aged 15 and over; occupations of those at work, in three broad groups.
Navan grades C+ for walkability
Better than 35% of Irish towns on two measures together, #8 of 12 in County Meath.
Of the everyday places, a post office is the one the fewest residents have within 800 m (25%).
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.
8th of 13: where Navan ranks among Irish towns of 23,700 to 45,700
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naas County Kildare | 26,180 | 73% | 6.2% | €82K | A− |
| 2 | Swords County Dublin | 40,776 | 74% | 7% | €77K | A− |
| 3 | Ennis County Clare | 27,923 | 68% | 9.6% | €53K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | Newbridge County Kildare | 24,366 | 67% | 9.3% | €64K | B− |
| 7 | Blanchardstown County Dublin | 24,613 | 69% | 11% | €69K | B− |
| 8 | Navan County Meath | 33,886 | 67% | 10% | €63K | C |
| 9 | Drogheda County Louth | 44,135 | 65% | 11% | €56K | C |
| 10 | Balbriggan County Dublin | 24,322 | 64% | 11% | €61K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Dundalk County Louth | 43,112 | 62% | 14% | €49K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Navan, and others in County Meath.
Navan and its neighbours: work and income
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navan | 67% | 10% | €63K | 33.8 min | C | C+ |
| Kentstown 9.9 km | 67% | 10% | €79K | 34.8 min | C+ | D− |
| Slane 11.1 km | 67% | 11% | €62K | 34.9 min | C | B− |
| Trim 12.8 km | 70% | 7.9% | €62K | 32 min | B | C |
| Kells 15.8 km | 64% | 12% | €52K | 31.7 min | D | C+ |
| Athboy 16.6 km | 66% | 11% | €55K | 34.6 min | C− | B |
| Duleek 16.8 km | 66% | 9.7% | €62K | 32.9 min | C | D− |
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 Navan, 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 Navan
What is the unemployment rate in Navan?
10% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 3.6% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Navan a good place to find work?
Navan earns a C for jobs and income, better than 32% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #10 of 12 in County Meath.
How do people in Navan get to work?
73% of commuters go by car or van, 9.2% walk, 1.2% cycle and 7.1% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 8.9% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Navan?
Trips to work, school or college take 33.8 minutes on average; 17% take an hour or more and 29% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Navan?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Navan’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Navan 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 Navan 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).