Photo: Eirian Evans · CC BY-SA 2.0Working-age people in Baltinglass have jobs less often than in 79% of Irish towns
On jobs and income together, Baltinglass grades D−, #314 of 321 Irish towns. The trip to work, school or college averages 34.5 minutes from Baltinglass; for 22%, it takes an hour or more.
Jobs and income in Baltinglass: what the figures say
Fewer people in work than most towns
63% of people aged 15 to 64 in Baltinglass 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; 3.7% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Unemployment ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Trips to work, school or college take 34.5 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 22% 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 Baltinglass earn D−
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.
In Baltinglass, 63% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Wicklow, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Unemployment, counted the census way, was 12% of the labour force; the middle of Irish towns is 9.2%. 3.7% of everyone aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Among the unemployed, 50% 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.
Getting to work or school from Baltinglass takes more time than in the middle of Irish towns
Short trips of under 15 minutes make up 41%, where the middle of County Wicklow has 36%. In the middle of County Wicklow, the trip averages 31.6 minutes. Among County Wicklow’s 9 towns counted, 8 have shorter trips on average.
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.
How long trips to work, school or college take, 2022 census (trips whose length wasn’t stated left out).
The industries behind Baltinglass’ jobs
The second-largest is Commerce and trade, at 24% (against 26% across Irish towns), and farming, forestry and fishing is the smallest of the seven, at 2.7%.
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.
People living here who are in work, by the industry they work in, wherever their job is (2022 census).
How much households earn in Baltinglass: €51,922
Before tax, 2022: lower than in 57% of Irish towns.
Baltinglass’s median is 19% below County Wicklow’s (€64,077). 6 of the county’s 8 other towns of 2,500 people or more have a higher median. After tax, the median is €44,772. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 16% above Baltinglass’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Out of the car: 12% of Baltinglass’ commuters
Against 10% and 2.4% in the middle of Irish towns, 9.2% walk and 0.7% cycle. 80% of commuters go by car or van. 7.5% work mainly from home, against 11% in the middle of Irish towns. The bus takes 2.2% of commuters, against 6% in the middle of Irish towns.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
How residents in work get there (2022 census; people working mainly from home included).
The count signing on in County Wicklow is 10% below its 2019 level
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. Baltinglass office saw its highest month in July 2019: 575 people signing on, 15% 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 Baltinglass works: 52% of adults are in work
Compared with Irish towns, 7% 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.
Everyone aged 15 and over, by what they said they mainly do (2022 census), and the jobs of those in work.
Baltinglass earns D for walkability
Fewest residents live within 800 m of a post office: 0%.
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.
Baltinglass and other Irish towns of 2,500 to 3,500
| # | 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 |
| … | ||||||
| 43 | Rathnew County Wicklow | 3,482 | 61% | 14% | €50K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 47 | Kilrush County Clare | 2,649 | 56% | 20% | €34K | D |
| 48 | Ballynanty County Limerick | 3,030 | 45% | 24% | €37K | D |
| 49 | Baltinglass County Wicklow | 2,611 | 63% | 12% | €52K | D− |
| 50 | Mayfield County Cork | 2,846 | 49% | 20% | €38K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Baltinglass, and others in County Wicklow.
The work picture around Baltinglass
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltinglass | 63% | 12% | €52K | 34.5 min | D− | D |
| Rathvilly 6.2 km | 66% | 9.3% | €53K | 34 min | C | D− |
| Castledermot 9.9 km | 67% | 9.8% | €53K | 29.9 min | C+ | B− |
| Dunlavin 13.7 km | 62% | 12% | €54K | 27.7 min | C− | D− |
| Tullow 14.9 km | 64% | 12% | €47K | 25.1 min | C | C |
| Carlow 18.5 km | 62% | 12% | €50K | 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 Baltinglass, 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 Baltinglass
What is the unemployment rate in Baltinglass?
12% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 3.7% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Baltinglass a good place to find work?
Baltinglass earns a D− for jobs and income, better than 4% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #314 of 321 Irish towns.
How do people in Baltinglass get to work?
80% of commuters go by car or van, 9.2% walk, 0.7% cycle and 2.5% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 7.5% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Baltinglass?
Trips to work, school or college take 34.5 minutes on average; 22% take an hour or more and 41% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Baltinglass?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Baltinglass’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Baltinglass 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 Baltinglass 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).