Revealed: Ireland's richest and poorest counties

Tomas Doherty

Dublin continues to have the highest disposable income per person in the State, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The agency’s latest county incomes and regional gross domestic product (GDP) report shows workers in Dublin city and county had the highest average disposable income in 2023 of €32,393.

This was 14.2 per cent above the State average and more than 36 per cent above workers in Longford, who had the lowest (€22,251 per person). Disposable income is defined as total income minus taxes and social insurance contributions.

After Dublin, workers in Cork had the next highest disposable income (€29,876 per person) followed by those in Limerick (€29,491 per person).

The county with the second lowest disposable income per person was Laois at €22,257, followed by Donegal at €23,271.

The CSO noted that while the figures involve a degree of uncertainty, the gap between the lowest and highest county income per capita has widened considerably and is now at €10,136, a jump of €1,597 from 2022.

Dublin and Cork, as well as surrounding counties, benefit largely from the presence of key economic sectors – for example, the IT sector in Dublin and the manufacturing sector in Cork.

The Border (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo) and Midlands consistently remain significantly below the national average for household disposable income and are largely dependent on the public sector to generate wealth and employment.