Photo: Malone0 · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer of Arklow’s 15-to-64s are in work than in 80% of Irish towns
Arklow grades C− for jobs and income, #7 of 9 in County Wicklow. Unemployment in Arklow stood at 11% at the 2022 census, where the middle of Irish towns has 9.2%. Getting to work, school or college from Arklow takes 29.1 minutes on average; for 15%, it takes an hour or more.
Jobs and income in Arklow: what the figures say
Fewer people in work than most towns
63% of people aged 15 to 64 in Arklow had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
11% 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 ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022, CSO household income 2022 and the Live Register.
The Jobs & income grade for Arklow: C−
Better than 17% of Irish towns across four measures, #7 of 9 in County Wicklow.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
The share of 15-to-64s in work in Arklow: 63%
Of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Wicklow, 1 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. Among the unemployed, 54% had been out of work that long. Counting everyone aged 15 and over, retirees and students included, 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.
What the people of Arklow do for work
The second-largest is Professional services, health and education, at 23% (against 25% 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.
Household income in Arklow: €49,940 a year
Before tax, 2022: lower than in 64% of Irish towns.
That puts Arklow 22% below the median for County Wicklow as a whole, €64,077. Every other town of 2,500 or more in the county has a higher median. Net of tax, it is €44,998. The State median is €60,123, 20% above Arklow’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Walk, cycle, bus or train: the choice of 17% of Arklow’s commuters
The middle of Irish towns has 6% going by bus; here it is 2.3%. On foot: 12% of commuters, well above the 6.7% in the middle of County Wicklow. The car or van takes 74% of commuters, close to the middle of County Wicklow.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
The trip from Arklow to work or school is a typical one for Irish towns
The middle of County Wicklow averages 31.6 minutes a trip. 1 of the 9 towns of County Wicklow counted have a shorter average trip. 43% of trips take under 15 minutes, against 36% in the middle of County Wicklow.
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 Live Register in County Wicklow, month by month
4,688 people were signing on in County Wicklow in September 2026. Set against a year before, the count in September 2026 rose by 3%. It has stayed below its 2019 average for the last 49 months. Its lowest month since 2019 was November 2024, at 4,389. Arklow office: signing on peaked in July 2020 at 1,623, 10% 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).
Most of Arklow works: 52% of adults are in work
Compared with Irish towns, 7.1% 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.
How walkable Arklow is: C
Better than 35% of Irish towns on two measures together, #5 of 9 in County Wicklow.
Fewest residents live within 800 m of a post office: 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.
Among Irish towns of 9,400 to 18,100, Arklow ranks 72nd of 83 for jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 57 | Wicklow County Wicklow | 12,957 | 68% | 9.3% | €64K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 70 | Tuam County Galway | 9,647 | 63% | 13% | €48K | C− |
| 71 | Gorey County Wexford | 11,517 | 64% | 12% | €50K | C− |
| 72 | Arklow County Wicklow | 13,399 | 63% | 11% | €50K | C− |
| 73 | Finglas South County Dublin | 12,475 | 64% | 13% | €50K | C− |
| 74 | Deansrath County Dublin | 13,743 | 62% | 13% | €56K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 83 | Summerhill County Dublin | 11,911 | 60% | 15% | €45K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Arklow, and others in County Wicklow.
How the places next to Arklow compare on work
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arklow | 63% | 11% | €50K | 29.1 min | C− | C |
| Aughrim 13.2 km | 63% | 9.8% | €53K | 34.7 min | C− | D |
| Rathdrum 15.9 km | 67% | 10% | €57K | 33.1 min | C | C+ |
| Gorey 15.9 km | 64% | 12% | €50K | 28.5 min | C− | C+ |
| Courtown 18.3 km | 60% | 15% | €44K | 34.7 min | D− | 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 Arklow, 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 Arklow
What is the unemployment rate in Arklow?
11% 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 Arklow a good place to find work?
Arklow earns a C− for jobs and income, better than 17% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #7 of 9 in County Wicklow.
How do people in Arklow get to work?
74% of commuters go by car or van, 12% walk, 1.4% cycle and 3.2% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 8.5% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Arklow?
Trips to work, school or college take 29.1 minutes on average; 15% take an hour or more and 43% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Arklow?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Arklow’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Arklow 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 Arklow 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).