Average Salary in Ireland 2026
Official average earnings by sector from the Central Statistics Office, updated every quarter, with a quick check of where your pay sits.
Official average earnings by sector from the Central Statistics Office, updated every quarter, with a quick check of where your pay sits.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) puts average weekly earnings at €1,046.88 in Q2 2026, which is roughly €54,438 a year before tax. That is +3.9% on the same quarter a year earlier and +48.2% over the last ten years.
These are gross figures, before PAYE income tax, USC and PRSI. To see what an average earner actually takes home, try the €55k after tax breakdown or enter any salary in the salary calculator.
Average is not typical. A small number of very high earners pull the average up, so most employees earn less than the average for their sector.
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Average gross weekly earnings for all employees in each sector, highest first, with the change on a year earlier.
| Sector | Weekly | Roughly per year | vs Q2 2025 | Paid hours/week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Information and communication | €1,730.61 | €89,992 | +3.4% | 36.9 |
| Financial and insurance activities | €1,556.66 | €80,946 | +3.0% | 36.0 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | €1,294.65 | €67,322 | +5.4% | 34.7 |
| Public administration and defence | €1,256.79 | €65,353 | +3.8% | 36.2 |
| Mining and quarrying | €1,249.16 | €64,956 | +11.0% | 39.6 |
| Manufacturing | €1,165.43 | €60,602 | +5.4% | 38.3 |
| Construction | €1,089.21 | €56,639 | +4.3% | 36.5 |
| Education | €1,077.36 | €56,023 | +2.7% | 24.3 |
| Transportation and storage | €1,017.32 | €52,901 | +3.2% | 36.6 |
| Human health and social work activities | €980.94 | €51,009 | +3.3% | 31.5 |
| Real estate activities | €896.21 | €46,603 | -4.8% | 32.2 |
| Administrative and support service activities | €838.79 | €43,617 | +5.6% | 31.0 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | €775.71 | €40,337 | +2.8% | 31.5 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | €684.00 | €35,568 | -2.6% | 26.9 |
| Other service activities | €666.31 | €34,648 | -1.1% | 28.8 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | €506.78 | €26,353 | +7.7% | 28.0 |
| All sectors | €1,046.88 | €54,438 | +3.9% | 32.8 |
National average weekly earnings in Q2 of each year.
| Quarter | Average weekly earnings | Change on previous year |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | €1,046.88 | +3.9% |
| Q2 2025 | €1,007.58 | +4.5% |
| Q2 2024 | €964.54 | +5.7% |
| Q2 2023 | €912.12 | +4.4% |
| Q2 2022 | €873.32 | +2.6% |
| Q2 2021 | €851.14 | +4.1% |
| Q2 2020 | €817.34 | +6.0% |
| Q2 2019 | €771.39 | +3.5% |
| Q2 2018 | €745.03 | +3.4% |
| Q2 2017 | €720.52 | +2.0% |
| Q2 2016 | €706.33 | – |
According to the CSO, average weekly earnings were €1,046.88 in Q2 2026, which works out at roughly €54,438 a year before tax (weekly figure × 52). That is +3.9% on Q2 2025.
Information and communication has the highest average weekly earnings at €1,730.61 in Q2 2026. Accommodation and food service activities is lowest at €506.78.
Before tax. CSO average earnings are gross pay, before PAYE income tax, USC and PRSI. Use the salary calculator on this site to see the take-home pay on any figure.
Average hourly earnings were €31.96 in Q2 2026, with employees paid for an average of 32.8 hours a week.
The average (mean) is pulled up by a smaller number of very high earners, so the typical (median) worker earns less than the average for their sector. Treat the averages here as a benchmark, not the pay of a typical person.
From the Central Statistics Office's Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey (EHECS), table EHQ03, published quarterly. This page was last rebuilt from the CSO data published on 2026-08-25.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey, table EHQ03 (average weekly earnings, not seasonally adjusted, all employees unless stated). Figures cover employees only, not the self-employed. Annual figures are the weekly average multiplied by 52 and are approximate. This page rebuilds automatically when the CSO publishes a new quarter; last CSO update 2026-08-25.