Photo: P L Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0Household incomes in Blessington are higher than in 74% of Irish towns
Unemployment in Blessington stood at 7.2% at the 2022 census (the middle of Irish towns: 9.2%). Blessington grades B for jobs and income, #4 of 9 in County Wicklow. The average trip to work, school or college from Blessington takes 31.6 minutes; 14% take an hour or more.
The work numbers behind Blessington
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household in Blessington had €69,341 a year before tax in 2022; the middle of Irish towns is €57,760. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Trips to work, school or college take 31.6 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 14% 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.
Blessington grades B for jobs and income
Better than 61% of Irish towns on four measures taken together, #4 of 9 in County Wicklow.
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.
The middle household in Blessington: €69,341 a year
Blessington’s median is 8% above County Wicklow’s (€64,077). 2 of the county’s 8 other towns of 2,500 people or more have a higher median. After tax, the median is €58,279. The State median is €60,123, 13% below Blessington’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
A slower run to work or school from Blessington than in the middle of Irish towns
Trips of 15 to 44 minutes are the most common, at 41%, close to the middle of County Wicklow. 4 of the 9 towns of County Wicklow counted have a shorter average trip. 35% of trips take under 15 minutes, about the same as 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 work of Blessington’s residents, industry by industry
Professional services, health and education is the second-largest at 23%, against 25% across Irish towns; the smallest of the seven is farming, forestry and fishing, at 0.5%.
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.
Work for 69% of 15-to-64s in Blessington
Of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Wicklow, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
2.3% 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, 60% 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.
Incomes inside Blessington run from €66K to €95K
Median gross household income in each of the 3 electoral divisions where 50 or more of Blessington’s households live: the highest is 1.4 times the lowest.
| Electoral division | Households here | Median income (whole division) | Aged 15–64 in work (here) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blessington | 1,286 | €65,876 | 68% |
| Burgage | 428 | €79,782 | 67% |
| Newtown | 137 | €94,667 | 74% |
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022 (GPIIA01): each division’s median covers all its households, including any outside Blessington; households and the share in work are Blessington’s own part (Census 2022, CSO SAPS).
In Blessington, 13% of commuters leave the car behind
6.7% walk and 0.9% cycle to work, against 10% and 2.4% in the middle of Irish towns. For 76% of commuters, the trip to work is by car or van. Working mainly from home is about as common as in the middle of Irish towns, at 11%. By bus: 4.5% of commuters, next to 6% in the middle of Irish towns.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
The Live Register count in County Wicklow since 2019
4,688 people were signing on in County Wicklow in September 2026. Over the year to September 2026, the count rose by 3%. For 49 months in a row now, it has been under its 2019 average. Its lowest month since 2019 was November 2024, at 4,389. Blessington office: signing on peaked in July 2020 at 0, 13% 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).
60% of people 16 and over in Blessington 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.
On getting around on foot, Blessington grades C−
Better than 24% of Irish towns on two measures together, #7 of 9 in County Wicklow.
Of the everyday places, a post office is the one the fewest residents have within 800 m (50%).
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.
Out of 99 Irish towns of 3,900 to 7,600, Blessington comes 41st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballinlough County Cork | 5,435 | 74% | 4.8% | €72K | A+ |
| 2 | Carrigtwohill County Cork | 5,568 | 73% | 5.5% | €71K | A+ |
| 3 | Oranmore County Galway | 5,819 | 79% | 5.9% | €80K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 33 | Kilcoole County Wicklow | 4,569 | 70% | 7.3% | €70K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 39 | Montenotte County Cork | 4,113 | 69% | 7.5% | €55K | B+ |
| 40 | Santry County Dublin | 6,710 | 74% | 8.6% | €75K | B |
| 41 | Blessington County Wicklow | 5,611 | 69% | 7.2% | €69K | B |
| 42 | Mervue County Galway | 4,126 | 68% | 10% | €50K | B |
| 43 | Woodquay and Nuns Island County Galway | 4,948 | 66% | 9.3% | €50K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 99 | Courtown County Wexford | 4,365 | 60% | 15% | €44K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Blessington, and others in County Wicklow.
How Blessington compares with the places nearby
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blessington | 69% | 7.2% | €69K | 31.6 min | B | C− |
| Johnstown 8.9 km | 68% | 5.8% | €80K | 33.3 min | B | D− |
| Kill 9.2 km | 74% | 6.1% | €75K | 32.1 min | A− | D |
| Naas 10 km | 73% | 6.2% | €82K | 32.2 min | A− | C+ |
| Sallins 12.6 km | 71% | 6.4% | €79K | 33.9 min | B+ | B |
| Rathcoole 13 km | 78% | 5.7% | €78K | 30.3 min | A | B |
| Saggart 13.9 km | 73% | 9.4% | €69K | 33.1 min | B | B |
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 Blessington, 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 Blessington
What is the unemployment rate in Blessington?
7.2% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 2.3% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Blessington a good place to find work?
Blessington earns a B for jobs and income, better than 61% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #4 of 9 in County Wicklow.
How do people in Blessington get to work?
76% of commuters go by car or van, 6.7% walk, 0.9% cycle and 5.1% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 11% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Blessington?
Trips to work, school or college take 31.6 minutes on average; 14% take an hour or more and 35% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Blessington?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Blessington’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Blessington 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 Blessington 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).