The gap between house prices and salaries in Dublin was more than twice the figure in Belfast in 2024, a new report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.
The regional economic comparison of the Republic and Northern Ireland combines data from both regions across 2023 and 2024, and brings together data on employment and earnings, as well as on the national and regional accounts.
It shows the median price of a house in Dublin in 2024 was 13 times the median annual salary, while in Belfast it was six times the median salary.
The ratio of house prices to annual earnings has remained relatively constant in Northern Ireland since 2014, but house prices significantly outpaced earnings in the Republic over the same period.
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While the median price of a house in Louth was five times the median annual salary in 2014, it had grown to almost 11 times median earnings a decade later.
By comparison, in Newry, Mourne and Down, the ratio of house price to earnings stayed relatively constant at around nine times the median salary over the same 10-year period.
Gross disposable household income – the money available to satisfy the needs of households after taxes – increased in all regions between 2011 and 2023, but the smallest increase was recorded in Northern Ireland at 38 per cent.
The largest was observed in the eastern/midland region of the Republic at 45 per cent. While both the eastern/midland and southern regions experienced declines in 2020, they recovered quickly in 2021 to overtake pre-pandemic levels.
Northern Ireland experienced a marginal increase in disposable income per capita in 2020, followed by a return to growth in 2021 at 2 per cent, which aligned with pre-pandemic growth rates.
Dublin had the highest share of primary income as a percentage of disposable income in 2023, of which pay was the largest component, followed by Kildare, Wicklow and Meath, reflecting high incomes in the commuter belt and Greater Dublin Area.
Donegal had the lowest share, followed by Wexford, Leitrim, the Causeway Coast and Glens, and Longford. Social benefits were lowest in Dublin, Kildare, Cork and Galway, and highest in Longford, Donegal, Derry city and Strabane, and Leitrim.
Social benefits are generally higher for regions where primary income is a lower share of disposable income, the report said. These regions relied more heavily on government transfers to supplement incomes.
Current taxes on income are also generally higher in the Republic than Northern Ireland, the report noted. The highest shares were recorded in Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, Meath and Louth, reflecting higher earnings in the Republic.
Northern Ireland consistently recorded the highest number of people employed, followed by Dublin. The midland region in the Republic recorded the lowest number.
While employment increased in all regions during the period, the increase in Northern Ireland was more modest than most regions in the Republic.
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The number of employees and people who are self-employed increased by approximately 20 per cent in Northern Ireland between 2009 and 2024, an increase comparable to the southwest and midwest regions of the Republic.
Gross value added, which is an economic tool measuring the value producers add to goods and services they have bought, rose 36 per cent in Northern Ireland between 2015 and 2023.
By comparison, it increased by 77 per cent in the eastern and midland region of the Republic and 48 per cent in the southern region during the same period.
“This reflects the presence of multinational corporations in these regions, who engage in higher profit-making activities,” the report noted.
Manufacturing was the largest sector in the Republic in 2023, accounting for 31 per cent of its total gross value added. In Northern Ireland, public administration, education and health was the largest, at 24 per cent.
