Photo: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Castleblayney have lower incomes than those in 90% of Irish towns
Castleblayney grades C− for jobs and income, #274 of 321 Irish towns. Unemployment in Castleblayney stood at 13% at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. From Castleblayney, trips to work, school or college average 24.6 minutes, with 8.8% taking an hour or more.
Castleblayney at work: what stands out
More unemployment than most towns
13% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 4.1% 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 Castleblayney had €40,671 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 24.6 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 8.8% 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 Castleblayney: C−
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.
In Castleblayney, 65% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
A larger share in work than in 35% of Irish towns.
4.1% 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, 52% 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.
Half the households here have more than €40,671 a year
Castleblayney’s median is 20% below County Monaghan’s (€50,617). After tax, the median is €37,586. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 48% above Castleblayney’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 is quicker from Castleblayney than in the middle of Irish towns
Short trips are about as common as in the middle of County Monaghan, at 48%.
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.
The industries behind Castleblayney’s jobs
The second-largest is Commerce and trade, at 20% (against 26% across Irish towns), and farming, forestry and fishing is the smallest of the seven, at 2.4%.
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.
Not by car: 15% of Castleblayney’s commuters walk, cycle or ride the bus or train
5.4% work mainly from home, against 11% in the middle of Irish towns. By bus: 2% of commuters, next to 6% in the middle of Irish towns. The car or van carries most commuters: 79%.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
The count signing on in County Monaghan is 33% below its 2019 level
1,635 people were signing on in County Monaghan in September 2026. Set against a year before, the count in September 2026 fell by 11%. It has stayed below its 2019 average for the last 49 months. Castleblayney office: signing on peaked in July 2019 at 833, 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.
People signing on each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Castleblayney at work: 52% of adults have a job
Compared with Irish towns, 18% 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.
The walkability of Castleblayney: C
Fewest residents live within 800 m of a post office: 41%.
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, Castleblayney is 82nd among 97 Irish towns of 2,700 to 5,300
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annacotty County Limerick | 3,398 | 71% | 6% | €90K | A+ |
| 2 | Glounthaune County Cork | 5,000 | 73% | 4.3% | €76K | A+ |
| 3 | Glanmire County Cork | 4,454 | 71% | 5.6% | €87K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 80 | Decies County Dublin | 2,713 | 65% | 12% | €47K | C− |
| 81 | Bailieborough County Cavan | 2,974 | 66% | 13% | €47K | C− |
| 82 | Castleblayney County Monaghan | 3,926 | 65% | 13% | €41K | C− |
| 83 | Birr County Offaly | 4,726 | 61% | 15% | €43K | D |
| 84 | Listowel County Kerry | 4,794 | 61% | 14% | €40K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 97 | Courtown County Wexford | 4,365 | 60% | 15% | €44K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Castleblayney, and others in County Monaghan.
How Castleblayney compares with the places nearby
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castleblayney | 65% | 13% | €41K | 24.6 min | C− | C |
| Ballybay 10.4 km | 67% | 11% | €42K | 25.3 min | C | B− |
| Carrickmacross 15.7 km | 66% | 12% | €46K | 26.6 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 Castleblayney, 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 Castleblayney
What is the unemployment rate in Castleblayney?
13% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 4.1% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Castleblayney a good place to find work?
Castleblayney earns a C− for jobs and income, better than 19% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #274 of 321 Irish towns.
How do people in Castleblayney get to work?
79% of commuters go by car or van, 13% walk, 0.5% cycle and 2.2% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 5.4% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Castleblayney?
Trips to work, school or college take 24.6 minutes on average; 8.8% take an hour or more and 48% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Castleblayney?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Castleblayney’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Castleblayney 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 Castleblayney 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).