Dublin workers’ disposable income almost 15% higher than national average

People living in Dublin had the highest disposable income in the State in 2021, 14.7 per cent higher than the national average and up 3.8 per cent since 2020.

The average disposable income for people living in Dublin was €27,958 in 2021, compared to a State average of €24,376, according to Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures.

Only four other counties had disposable incomes per person above the State average in 2021: Limerick (€25,190), Wicklow (€24,702), Carlow (€24,606) and Cork (€24,600).

Donegal continues to be the poorest county in terms of disposable income per capita, with an average disposable income of €19,253 per person in 2021, 21 per cent below the state average.

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The CSO noted that smaller counties such as Carlow, Louth and Westmeath have relatively high levels of social benefits per person, which contributes to an overall rise in the counties’ disposable incomes per capita to close to, or above, the State average.

Almost a third (30 per cent) of all employed people in the State worked in Dublin in 2021, while 13 per cent worked in Cork.

The Dublin region (Dublin city, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin) recorded the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in the state in 2021, at €199.1 billion. This was followed by the southwest region (Cork and Kerry) at €115.7 billion.

Total disposable income across Dublin city and county was the highest in the State, at €39.7 billion, followed by the southwest accounting for €17.4 billion.

The amount generated in Cork represents 81 per cent of total disposable income in the southwest, and 36 per cent of the wider Southern region that includes Cork, Kerry, Clare, Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Wexford.

The Midlands region had the lowest level of disposable income, generating a total of just €6.7 billion in 2021, followed by the Border region which generated €8.45 million in disposable income in 2021.

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Industry and manufacturing was the largest sector in almost all regions in 2021, apart from the Midlands and Dublin city and county.

In the southwest region, industry made up 77.9 per cent of gross value added (GVA), and accounted for 51.1 per cent of GVA in the midwest (Clare, Limerick and Tipperary).

The largest share of GVA in Dublin in 2021 came from the information and communication sector (36.3 per cent).

The Border and Midland regions saw a large portion of their GVA come from public administration, education and health (21.9 per cent and 23.3 per cent respectively). The CSO noted that both regions are the lowest performers in terms of GVA and disposable income due to a smaller presence of more profitable activities such as industry or information and communications.

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