CSO estimates for 2024 show how much income per person households in each county had to spend or save, and how the gap between the top and bottom counties has widened.
Only one county is far above the average
Dublin is the only county where income per person was well above the State average in 2024, the CSO says. Dublin's disposable income per person was €33,889, 12% above the average of €30,139. Every other county was within 2.5% of the average or below it.
Disposable income is what households have left after income tax and social insurance, including welfare payments they receive. The figures come from the CSO's County Incomes and GDP 2024, published on 4 February 2026. They are the latest available.
Longford has the lowest income per person
Longford had the lowest disposable income per person in 2024, at €23,725. That is 21.3% below the State average. Roscommon (€24,685) and Donegal (€24,686) were next.
The gap between the highest and lowest county was €10,164 in 2024. It widened by €1,648 compared with 2023, the CSO says.
Seven counties are just above average
The CSO measures each county against the State average, set at 100. After Dublin (112.4), seven counties sit a little above 100: Limerick, Cork, Carlow, Tipperary, Kildare, Louth and Wicklow. Wicklow, at 100.3, is the closest to the average.
Some commuter counties rank lower than people might expect. Meath was 11.8% below the average in 2024. There, taxes were equal to 50.9% of disposable income, close to Dublin's 53.7%, the CSO's breakdown shows.
| County | Income per person | Index (State = 100) | Social benefits per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin | €33,889 | 112.4 | €6,387 |
| Limerick | €30,879 | 102.5 | €7,970 |
| Cork | €30,748 | 102.0 | €7,178 |
| Carlow | €30,712 | 101.9 | €9,032 |
| State | €30,139 | 100.0 | €7,316 |
| Leitrim | €24,960 | 82.8 | €8,304 |
| Donegal | €24,686 | 81.9 | €8,827 |
| Roscommon | €24,685 | 81.9 | €7,417 |
| Longford | €23,725 | 78.7 | €8,347 |
Who moved up and down in 2024
Louth and Kildare climbed most against the average between 2023 and 2024. Louth went from 4.8% below the average to 1.3% above it. Leitrim, Longford and Roscommon fell furthest behind.
Welfare matters more in poorer counties
In Donegal, social benefits were equal to 35.8% of disposable income in 2024, the highest share. In Dublin they were 18.8%. Pay from foreign-owned companies matters most in Dublin, where it made up 39.8% of all employee pay.
Social benefits as a share of disposable income in Donegal, 2024, the highest of any county
Source: cso.ieDonegal is the only county where disposable income is larger than income earned from work, business and property. There, earned (primary) income was 97.3% of disposable income, because benefits received outweigh taxes paid. In Dublin, earned income was 134.8% of disposable income.
- Social benefits as a share of disposable income: Donegal 35.8%, Longford 35.2%, Leitrim 33.3%, Dublin 18.8%
- Share of employee pay from foreign-owned companies: Dublin 39.8%, Cork 35.5%, Limerick 35.4%, Monaghan 19.2%
- Taxes as a share of disposable income: Wicklow 54.2%, Dublin 53.7%, Donegal 33.1%
Social benefits per person were highest in Louth, at €9,288, and lowest in Dublin, at €6,387. The State average was €7,316.
Dublin's total income grew fastest since 2016
The CSO also gives total disposable income for each of eight regions back to 2016. Dublin's total rose by 85% from 2016 to 2024, to €52.0 billion. The Midlands, which includes Longford, rose by 73%, and the Border region by 60%.
Outside Dublin, growth ranged from 60% to 78%. The Mid-East, which takes in Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and Louth, rose by 78%. The Mid-West, South-West, South-East and West all rose by between 60% and 63%.
Dublin's share of all household disposable income in the State rose from 29.7% in 2016 to 32.0% in 2024 (Irish Wire calculation). Dublin's total rose by 9.9% in 2024 alone, to €52 billion, the CSO says.
The Midland region of Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath had €8.8 billion in total. Per person it was 14.5% below the State average, the lowest of the eight regions.
Output per person is a different measure
The same CSO release also measures economic output by county, called gross value added (GVA). In 2024 Dublin's output was €173,586 per person, and the State figure was €99,513. Longford's was €27,317.
Output figures are far higher than household income because output also counts company profits, not only pay. Foreign-controlled firms produced 66% of national GVA in 2024, the CSO says. Disposable income is a better guide to what local households have to live on.
A county's GDP shows how well off its people are.
Not on its own. Dublin's output per person in 2024 was more than five times its disposable income per person. Output includes company profits, and foreign-controlled firms produced 66% of national GVA, the CSO says.
How to read these figures
- Figures are per person, counting everyone who lives in the county, including children and retired people.
- They are averages. A county average says nothing about how income is shared between households there.
- Income is counted where people live, not where they work, so commuters' pay counts in their home county.
- The figures are not adjusted for differences in living costs between counties.
- CSO revises earlier years in each release, so older published county figures may differ from these.
CSO: County Incomes and GDP 2025 (the 2024 edition was published on 4 February 2026)
