Disposable income per person in Dublin was 12 per cent higher than the national average in 2024, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The agency’s latest county-by-county incomes and GDP (gross domestic product) survey indicated that average disposable income in the capital was €33,889, which was 12 per cent than the national average of €30,139.
Experts have, however, pointed out that the additional income generated by people living in Dublin is absorbed by the additional cost of living there.
“Disposable income is the amount of money left for an individual to spend after receiving social benefits and paying tax and social charges,” the CSO said.
READ MORE
The figures, which are based on data from the Revenue, showed that Dublin continued to have the highest disposable income per person followed by Limerick at €30,879 and Cork at €30,748.
Kildare, Louth and Wicklow saw their disposable income per person rise from below the State average in 2023 to marginally above it in 2024
Longford recorded the lowest disposable income per person nationally in that year at €23,725, 21 per cent below the national average.
EY Entrepreneur of the Year
The county with the second lowest disposable income per person was Roscommon at €24,685, followed by Donegal at €24,686.
“The border (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo) and midland regions consistently remain significantly below the national average for household disposable income and are largely dependent on the public administration sector to generate wealth and employment in their respective regions,” the CSO said.
In terms of GDP per person, Dublin city and county recorded the highest at €182,305, followed by the southwest region at €162,983.
The information and communication sector, which includes several big global tech players, was the largest contributor towards GDP in Dublin, while manufacturing, which includes the State’s big pharma industry, contributed most towards GDP in the southwest and in Kildare.
Longford was again lowest in terms of GDP per person at €28,689, followed by the border region at €32,617 and Laois at €32,717 where the public sector remained the strongest contributor towards GDP.
Employment was heavily weighted towards the capital with the Dublin area accounting for 35 per cent of all employed people in the Republic.
Cork was next highest, with 12 per cent of all employed people in the State working there. In comparison, Galway accounted for 6 per cent of all employed people nationally, followed by Limerick at 5 per cent and Waterford at 2 per cent.
