Photo: Sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.0More of Newcastle’s 15-to-64s are in work than in 86% of Irish towns
Unemployment in Newcastle stood at 4.9% at the 2022 census, next to 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. For jobs and income, Newcastle earns a grade of A−. Getting to work, school or college from Newcastle takes 35.5 minutes on average; for 17%, it takes an hour or more.
Newcastle and work: the main findings
Less unemployment than most towns
4.9% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 1.2% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household in Newcastle had €71,470 a year before tax in 2022; the middle of Irish towns is €57,760. CSO publishes no income figure for this place, so this one is our estimate from its electoral divisions. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Trips to work, school or college take 35.5 minutes on average, against 27.6 in the middle of Irish towns; 17% 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.
Newcastle earns A− for jobs and income
On four measures together, it is better than 77% of Irish towns.
Its strongest measure is the unemployment rate; its weakest, trip times.
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 work in Newcastle: 73% of the 15-to-64s
All 9 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Wicklow have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
1.2% of everyone aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Put another way, 40% of the unemployed had been out of work for a year or more. Of all residents aged 15 and over, retirees and students among them, 58% 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.
€71,470 a year: the median household in Newcastle
Before tax, 2022: higher than in 77% of Irish towns.
Newcastle’s median is 12% above County Wicklow’s (€64,077). One of the county’s 9 towns of 2,500 people or more has a higher median. After tax, the median is €59,220. The State median is €60,123, 16% below Newcastle’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
More time on the road to work or school from Newcastle than in the middle of Irish towns
For the middle of County Wicklow, the average trip is 31.6 minutes. In County Wicklow, 9 of 9 towns counted average a shorter trip. Trips of under 15 minutes are 27% of the total, against 36% in the middle of County Wicklow. 47% of trips take 15 to 44 minutes, where the middle of County Wicklow has 41%.
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.
Where the people of Newcastle earn a living, by industry
The second-largest is Professional services, health and education, at 25% (against 25% across Irish towns), and public administration is the smallest of the seven, at 2.5%.
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.
Walk, cycle, bus or train: the choice of 11% of Newcastle’s commuters
The middle of Irish towns has 10% walking and 2.4% cycling; here it is 2.2% and 1.3%. More people go by train, DART or Luas to work here than in the middle of County Wicklow: 4% against 1.5%. Driving to work: 76% here, 74% in the middle of County Wicklow.
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. County Wicklow saw its highest month in July 2020: 6,173 people signing on, 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. This place has no office of its own name, so the chart is its county’s or city’s.
People signing on each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Jobs, studies and retirement in Newcastle: 58% in work
The mix is close to Irish towns’ as a whole.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), principal economic status of people aged 15 and over; occupations of those at work, in three broad groups.
Walking in Newcastle earns D
Better than 8% of Irish towns on two measures together.
Fewest residents live within 800 m of a pharmacy: 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.
The places around Newcastle, side by side
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle | 73% | 4.9% | €71K | 35.5 min | A− | D |
| Newtownmountkennedy 3.6 km | 71% | 8% | €66K | 30.7 min | B+ | B |
| Kilcoole 3.7 km | 70% | 7.3% | €70K | 30.2 min | B+ | B+ |
| Kilpedder 5.1 km | 74% | 5.7% | €67K | 32.2 min | A− | D |
| Greystones-Delgany 7.3 km | 72% | 5.5% | €86K | 33.5 min | A− | B |
| Ashford 7.9 km | 70% | 9.1% | €68K | 34.8 min | B− | D |
| Rathnew 9.4 km | 61% | 14% | €50K | 27 min | D | D |
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 Newcastle, 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 Newcastle
What is the unemployment rate in Newcastle?
4.9% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 1.2% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Newcastle a good place to find work?
Newcastle earns an A− for jobs and income, better than 77% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together.
How do people in Newcastle get to work?
76% of commuters go by car or van, 2.2% walk, 1.3% cycle and 7.1% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 13% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Newcastle?
Trips to work, school or college take 35.5 minutes on average; 17% take an hour or more and 27% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Newcastle?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Newcastle’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Newcastle 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 Newcastle 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).