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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Dublin continues to have the highest disposable income in the country according to latest figures, with Donegal and midlands counties lagging way behind on available cash.
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The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has released County Incomes and Regional GDP 2021.
Dublin had the highest disposable income per person in the country in 2021, which is around 15pc higher than the state average.
The average disposable income per person in Dublin stood at €27,958, up 3.8pc from the year before.
However, other high income counties such as Wicklow and Limerick saw their lead over other areas decline in the period.
Disposable income measures how much a person has after tax and including any Social Welfare payments such as pension or Child Benefit.
However, it does not take into account higher costs such as housing or rent.
Commenting on the release, Aoife Crowe, Statistician in the National Accounts Analysis and Globalisation Division of the CSO, said: “Disposable income in Dublin City and County remained the largest in the state in 2021, accounting for €40 billion of the state total, and an 8.6% rise from 2020. The Midlands region continued to be the lowest in terms of disposable income. The income of the region accounted for €6.7 billion overall and was 10.9% below the state average per person".
Dublin continued to have the highest disposable income per person in the state in 2021, followed by Limerick and Wicklow.
Dublin’s disposable income per person stood at €27,958 in 2021, which was 15% higher than the state average, and up by 3.8% from 2020. The next county with the highest amount of disposable income per person was Limerick at €25,190 per person, followed by Wicklow at €24,702. Dublin and Cork, as well as surrounding counties, benefit largely from the presence of key economic sectors, for example, the Information & Communication sector in Dublin and the Industry sector in Cork.
Donegal recorded the lowest disposable income per person in the state in 2021 at €19,253, which is 21% below the state average.
The county with the second lowest disposable income per person was Laois at €19,659, followed by Kilkenny at €19,696.
"The Border and Midlands counties consistently remain significantly below the state average for household disposable income and are largely dependent on the Public Administration sector to generate wealth and employment in their respective regions," Ms Crowe said.
Employment was heavily weighted towards Dublin City and County, with 30% of all employed persons in the state working in the Dublin area in 2021.
Cork City and County was next highest with 13% of all employed persons working there. Both counties are outliers with respect to the rest of the country. In comparison, Galway City and County accounted for 7% of all employed persons nationally, followed by Limerick at 5% and Waterford at 4%.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Dublin and the South-West continued to rise compared with other regions. The Dublin NUTS 2 region recorded the highest GDP in the state at €199.1 billion, followed by the South-West region at €115.7 billion.
The Information & Communication sector was the largest contributor towards GDP in Dublin, while the manufacturing industry contributed most towards GDP in the South-West. Overall, manufacturing was the most valuable industry in nearly all regions in 2021, except for the Midland region where the public sector holds the largest share of GDP.
CSO's key findings were:
Dublin continued to have the highest disposable income per person in the state in 2021, followed by Limerick and Wicklow.
Dublin’s disposable income per person stood at €27,958 in 2021; 15% higher than the state average, having risen a further 3.8% from 2020.
Donegal recorded the lowest disposable income per person in the state in 2021 at €19,253.
Under a third (30%) of all employed persons in the state worked in Dublin in 2021, while 13% worked in Cork.
The Dublin NUTS 3 region recorded the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the state at €199.1 billion, followed by the South-West region at €115.7 billion.