Wealthiest 10% of Irish households have net wealth in excess of €788,000

The wealthiest 10 per cent of households in the State have a net wealth, over debt, of at least €788,400 while the bottom 10 per cent have a net wealth of less than €600.

The wealth divide was highlighted in the latest household finance and consumption survey from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The figures, which relate to 2020, also show that more than two-thirds (69.6 per cent) of households here own their main residence, either with or without a mortgage.

The home ownership rate differs from the 67 per cent figure detailed in the 2016 census, which was lower than the EU average of 69 per cent for the first time.

Do you get enough in return for the taxes you pay?

---

On a Dublin backstreet, a once-thriving hub of Russian finance is falling apart

---

Competitiveness council warns of possible wage-price spiral

---

Property prices defy cost-of-living squeeze to rise 15.2%

---

Net wealth is calculated by adding the total value of assets, such as a home, shares, pensions and cash savings, and subtracting debt owed or liabilities.

The CSO’s survey indicated that the median or midpoint net wealth value of Irish households in 2020 was €193,100.

Net wealth was found to be highest in the eastern and midlands regions, which include Dublin, which had a median value of €223,000.

This compared to €173,300 in the northern and western regions, which included counties Cavan, Donegal, Galway and Leitrim.

The CSO noted that the value of the household’s main residence was the chief component of wealth. In 2020, the median value for households’ main residence was €260,000.

Renters

The median net wealth of households that own their own home was €303,900 while for renters it was considerably less, at €5,300.

The CSO’s survey showed 4.1 per cent of households which owned their main residence with a mortgage were in negative equity while overall, households with mortgages had a median loan-to-value ratio of 45.2 per cent.

It also indicated that more than two-thirds (68.1 per cent) of all households have some form of debt. Overall, the median value of debt for households with any form of borowings was €25,000.

The CSO said that 97 per cent of households were recorded as having some form of financial assets, which would include money in deposit accounts as well as shares and investments. The median value of these assets was €13,300.