Dublin workers earn on average 17% more than State average

Workers in Dublin earn on average 17 per cent more than workers in other counties, figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

The CSO’s latest county incomes and regional GDP report shows workers in Dublin had the highest average disposable income in 2018 of €24,969.

This was 17.4 per cent higher than the State average of €21,270.

Of the other regions, only the mideast at €21,982 and the midwest at €21,035 had an average disposable income per person on a par with the State average.

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The Border region, with average disposable income of €17,391, and the midland region, with €17,389, were joint lowest – 18 per cent below the State average.

The figures show the gap between the highest and lowest per capita disposable income, on a regional basis, increased since 2017 due to incomes in Dublin rising faster than those in the Border region.

Living costs

The CSO said it calculated total household income by totting up income plus social transfers. Disposable household income is household income less taxes.

Experts have pointed out that the additional income generated by people living in Dublin is absorbed by the additional cost of living there.

Significantly, the divergence in income between the regions and Dublin was at its lowest in 2010 at the height of the financial crisis and has widened in subsequent years.

On a county-by-county basis, Dublin had the highest disposable income per person of €24,969 while Donegal and Offaly had the lowest – €16,490 and €16,907.

Dublin, Kildare, Limerick, Wicklow, Meath and Cork are the only counties where per capita disposable income exceeded the State average in 2018.

At the other end of the spectrum, some counties have never had per capita disposable income greater than the State average during the period 2004-2018.