Photo: Darren J. Prior · CC BY-SA 4.0Castlerea has lower household incomes than 97% of Irish towns
On jobs and income together, Castlerea grades D. Unemployment in Castlerea stood at 12% at the 2022 census, where the middle of Irish towns has 9.2%. The trip to work, school or college averages 24.8 minutes from Castlerea; for 11%, it takes an hour or more.
Jobs and income in Castlerea: what the figures say
Fewer people in work than most towns
62% of people aged 15 to 64 in Castlerea had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
12% 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. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household in Castlerea had €36,333 a year before tax in 2022; the middle of Irish towns is €57,760. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022, CSO household income 2022 and the Live Register.
Castlerea earns D for jobs and income
Better than 10% of Irish towns once its four measures are combined.
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.
Ranks start at 2,500 residents, so this grade has no rank.
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 Castlerea, 62% of the working-age population has a job
A larger share in work than in 18% of Irish towns.
Long-term unemployment, a year or more out of work, covered 3.6% of people aged 15 and over. Put another way, 56% of the unemployed had been out of work for a year or more. Counting everyone aged 15 and over, retirees and students included, 46% 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.
How much households earn in Castlerea: €36,333
That puts Castlerea 29% below the median for County Roscommon as a whole, €51,009. Net of tax, it is €34,241. The State median is €60,123, 65% above Castlerea’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
The work done by people from Castlerea
Commerce and trade is the second-largest at 21%, against 26% across Irish towns; the smallest of the seven is farming, forestry and fishing, at 2.2%.
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.
Walking, cycling, the bus or the train: 16% of Castlerea’s commuters
76% of commuters go by car or van. The middle of Irish towns has 6% going by bus; here it is 1.4%.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
A quicker run to work or school from Castlerea than in the middle of Irish towns
Short trips of under 15 minutes make up 52%, where the middle of County Roscommon has 54%.
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.
Signing on in County Roscommon since 2019
1,855 people were signing on in County Roscommon in September 2026. Over the year to September 2026, the count fell by 3%. Its lowest month since 2019 was September 2021, at 1,738. Castlerea office saw its highest month in July 2020: 1,051 people signing on, 7% 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).
23% of Castlerea’s adults have retired
Compared with Irish towns, 8% are full-time students, 46% are in work (against 57%) and 8.6% 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.
Castlerea grades C+ for walkability
Better than 36% of Irish towns on two measures together.
Of the everyday places, a school is the one the fewest residents have within 800 m (40%).
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.
Jobs and income in the places around Castlerea
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlerea | 62% | 12% | €36K | 24.8 min | D | C+ |
| Ballaghaderreen 16.3 km | 50% | 24% | €35K | 25.1 min | D− | C+ |
| Ballyhaunis 18.7 km | 57% | 16% | €41K | 21.4 min | D | A− |
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 Castlerea, 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 Castlerea
What is the unemployment rate in Castlerea?
12% 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 Castlerea a good place to find work?
Castlerea earns a D for jobs and income, better than 10% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together.
How do people in Castlerea get to work?
76% of commuters go by car or van, 12% walk, 1.1% cycle and 3.1% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 7.2% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Castlerea?
Trips to work, school or college take 24.8 minutes on average; 11% take an hour or more and 52% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Castlerea?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Castlerea’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Castlerea 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 Castlerea 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).