You are here: Home / Statistics / Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2021 / Income

Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2021

Income

SILC data 2020 to 2022 was revised on 7 March 2024 due to changes made to weights, reflecting updated household population benchmarks, because of the availability of Census 2022 data. The data in this publication does not reflect these revisions. For revised data please see SILC 2023 or PxStat.

One in four households consisting of one adult with children were in arrears on utility bills

Online ISSN: 2009-5937

CSO statistical publication, 06 May 2022, 11am

Household Income

Open in Excel:

The income reference period of SILC in year T is the calendar year T-1, i.e. for SILC 2021 the income relates to the 2020 calendar year.

The median household disposable income in SILC 2021 was €46,471, an increase of €2,556 (+5.8%) from the previous year. See table 2.3c. Disposable household income is gross household income less total tax, social insurance contributions, pension contributions and inter-household transfers paid. All figures discussed here are ‘nominal’, indicating that the estimate has not been adjusted for inflation. See Survey on Income and Living Conditions Fact Sheet (PDF 105KB)

In SILC 2021, households with three or more persons at work had the highest median household disposable income (€96,046), compared with €25,394 for households with no one at work.

Households containing one adult aged 65 or over had the lowest median household disposable income at €18,070, compared with €77,472 for households composed of three or more adults and no children. See figure 2.1.

X-axis label	2020	2021
1 adult aged 65 years and over	17312	18070
1 adult aged less than 65 years	23628	23155
2 adults, at least 1 aged 65 years and over	37911	39051
2 adults, both aged less than 65 years	53582	52701
3 or more adults	75285	77472
1 adult, with children under 18 years	29506	33404
2 adults, with 1-3 children under 18 years	58008	62513
Other households with children under 18 years	66754	72420

The median household disposable income for owner-occupied households was €52,926 in SILC 2021, an increase of €3,108 (+6.2%) from the previous year. The corresponding figure for rented and rent-free households increased by 3.7% to €37,702. See figure 2.2.

X-axis label	2020	2021
Owner-occupied	49818	52926
Rented or rent free	36366	37702

Households in the Eastern and Midlands region had a median household disposable income of €52,900, compared with €41,394 in the Southern region, and €38,183 in the Northern and Western region.

Equivalised Income

Open in Excel:

Equivalised income allows for a more meaningful comparison of income across households by accounting for the number of adults and children living in the household and thus allowing at an individualised level. See At Risk of Poverty Indicators Explained (PDF 717KB)

The median equivalised disposable income in SILC 2021 was €25,264, representing an increase of €1,251 (5.2%) from the previous year. The corresponding at risk of poverty threshold (i.e. 60% of the median) stood at €15,158 in SILC 2021, compared with €14,408 in SILC 2020.

Persons unable to work due to long-standing health problems had the lowest median equivalised disposable income in SILC 2021, at €16,604, compared with €30,266 for employed persons. The largest year-on-year increase was seen in unemployed persons, which increased by 15.6% to €19,556 in SILC 2021. Measures put in place to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis contributed to this year-on-year increase. It should be noted that in SILC Principal Economic Status was self-defined at the time of interview, whereas the income reference period is the calendar year 2020. In SILC 2021, of unemployed persons, 56% had employment income in the 2020 calendar year; 16.2% received income through the Wage Subsidy Schemes (WSS), i.e. either the Temporary Wage Support Scheme (TWSS) or the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS); and 38.4% received Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) in 2020. See figure 2.3 and table 2.3g.

X-axis label	2020	2021
Employed	28221	30266
Unemployed	16920	19556
Retired	22635	23170
Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	16670	16604
Student, pupil	21112	22875
Fulfilling domestic tasks	18812	19651

Equivalised disposable income follows a general upward trajectory as the level of education increases. Individuals with a highest level of educational attainment of third level degree or higher had the highest median equivalised disposable income of the categories analysed in SILC 2021, at €33,339. This compares with €17,904 for those with primary level education or lower. See figure 2.4.

X-axis label	2020	2021
Third level degree or higher	32337	33339
Third level non-degree	26017	28008
Post leaving certificate	22140	24085
Upper secondary	22860	24292
Lower secondary	19891	20790
Primary or below	17540	17904

Median equivalised disposable income for men was €25,622, compared to €25,062 for women.

In terms of age, persons aged 65 or over had the lowest median equivalised disposable income (€22,636), followed by children aged 0-17 (€23,719), while persons aged 18-34 had the highest (€27,515).

Composition of Income

Open in Excel:

Gross income includes social transfers plus market income, such as employment, pension and other income. With regards to COVID-19 income supports, income from WSS is included in market income, while income from PUP is included in social transfers for SILC 2021 estimates. See for details.

In SILC 2021, the mean weekly household gross income was €1,453.57, representing an increase of €41.18 (2.9%) from the previous year. See table 2.4a.

On average, households received €1,212.44 (83.4% of gross weekly income) from market income sources, and €241.13 (16.6% of gross income) from social transfers. However, this varied considerably by decile. Households in the first household disposable income decile received, on average, €30.87 (12.0% of gross income) from market income and €226.32 (88.0% of gross income) from social transfers. Households in the tenth decile received, on average, €4,182.37 (96.3% of gross income) from market income and €162.00 (3.7% of gross income) from social transfers. See figure 2.5 and table 2.7.

X-axis label	Total Social Transfers	Total Market Income
1st decile	226.32	30.87
2nd decile	260.17	137.72
3rd decile	312.19	281.79
4th decile	285.19	510.3
5th decile	293.59	701.76
6th decile	248.08	974.57
7th decile	245.4	1265.96
8th decile	205.44	1679.79
9th decile	173.21	2351.45
10th decile	162	4182.37

Disposable income is gross income less total tax, social insurance contributions, pension contributions and inter-household transfers paid. After tax and social contributions of €404.39 (27.8% of gross income), the average household had €1,049.18 in disposable income. On average, households in the first household disposable income decile contributed €10.57 (4.1% of gross income) in tax and social insurance deductions, compared with €1,622.74 (37.4% of gross income) for households in the tenth decile. See figure 2.6.

X-axis label	Total Tax and Social Insurance Contributions	Net Disposable Income
1st decile	10.57	246.62
2nd decile	23.18	374.71
3rd decile	56.4	537.58
4th decile	121.85	673.64
5th decile	189.99	805.37
6th decile	250.47	972.19
7th decile	365.95	1145.4
8th decile	537.25	1347.98
9th decile	862.59	1662.08
10th decile	1622.74	2721.63

Overall, average weekly disposable household income, after tax and social insurance contributions, increased by €34.59 from the previous year to €1,049.18 in SILC 2021. Average weekly household disposable income increased across all deciles in SILC 2021 when compared with the previous year. See table SIA73.

Distribution of Income

Open in Excel:

Ranking persons from lowest equivalised disposable income to highest and dividing by five allows us to split the population into quintiles. More than one in two (54.2%) persons describing their principal economic status as unable to work due to long-standing health problems are in the first equivalised disposable income quintile (i.e. the lowest 20%, of the net disposable equivalised income distribution), compared with fewer than one in ten (8.2%) of those that are employed. See figure 2.7 and table 2.8.

	Quintile 5	Quintile 4	Quintile 3	Quintile 2	Quintile 1
Fulfilling domestic tasks	9	9.6	19.3	27.8	34.3
Student, pupil	12.4	17.2	21.6	22.5	26.3
Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	4.1	5.1	13.1	23.5	54.2
Retired	17	16.4	18.9	19.6	28
Unemployed	6.8	14	15.9	26.3	36.9
Employed	29.8	26.4	20.2	15.4	8.2

Equality of Income

Open in Excel:

Quintile Share Ratio

In SILC 2021, the poorest 20% of the population had 9.6% of the nation’s equivalised disposable income, while the richest 20% had 36.5%. See figure 2.8.

	Quintile 5	Quintile 4	Quintile 3	Quintile 2	Quintile 1
2021	36.46	22.56	17.66	13.71	9.62
2020	37.61	22.42	17.28	13.44	9.25

The quintile share ratio is the ratio of the total equivalised disposable income received by the 20% of persons with the highest income (fifth quintile) to that received by the 20% of persons with the lowest income (first quintile). In SILC 2021, the quintile share ratio stood at 3.8, indicating that the total income of the richest 20% was almost four times that of the poorest 20%. The corresponding value for 2020 was 4.1. See table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Income quintile share ratio, 2020-2021
	2020	2021
Income quintile share ratio	4.1	3.8

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2021 Table 2.1 (XLS 9KB)

Gini Coefficient

Open in Excel:

The Gini coefficient measures income equality across the entire income distribution. It is the ratio of the area between the line of perfect equality and the observed Lorenz curve to the area between the line of perfect equality and the line of perfect inequality. A Gini coefficient value of 0% denotes perfect equality, indicating that income is distributed equally amongst all persons. A Gini Coefficient of 100% would denote perfect inequality where all the income is held by one person. See figure 2.9.

X-axis label	Perfect Equality	Cumulative Equivalised Disposable Income	Cumulative Equivalised Disposable Income excluding Social Transfers
0	0	0	0
1	1	0	0
2	2	1	0
3	3	1	0
4	4	2	0
5	5	2	0
6	6	2	0
7	7	3	0
8	8	3	0
9	9	4	0
10	10	4	0
11	11	5	0
12	12	5	0
13	13	6	0
14	14	6	0
15	15	7	1
16	16	8	1
17	17	8	1
18	18	9	1
19	19	9	1
20	20	10	2
21	21	11	2
22	22	11	2
23	23	12	3
24	24	12	3
25	25	13	4
26	26	14	4
27	27	14	4
28	28	15	5
29	29	16	5
30	30	16	6
31	31	17	6
32	32	18	7
33	33	18	8
34	34	19	8
35	35	20	9
36	36	21	9
37	37	21	10
38	38	22	11
39	39	23	11
40	40	24	12
41	41	25	13
42	42	25	14
43	43	26	14
44	44	27	15
45	45	28	16
46	46	29	17
47	47	29	18
48	48	30	18
49	49	31	19
50	50	32	20
51	51	33	21
52	52	34	22
53	53	35	23
54	54	36	24
55	55	37	25
56	56	38	26
57	57	39	27
58	58	40	28
59	59	40	29
60	60	42	30
61	61	42	31
62	62	44	32
63	63	45	33
64	64	46	35
65	65	47	36
66	66	48	37
67	67	49	38
68	68	50	39
69	69	51	41
70	70	52	42
71	71	53	43
72	72	54	45
73	73	56	46
74	74	57	47
75	75	58	49
76	76	59	50
77	77	60	52
78	78	62	53
79	79	63	55
80	80	64	56
81	81	66	58
82	82	67	59
83	83	68	61
84	84	70	63
85	85	71	64
86	86	72	66
87	87	74	68
88	88	75	70
89	89	77	71
90	90	78	73
91	91	80	75
92	92	82	77
93	93	83	79
94	94	85	81
95	95	87	84
96	96	89	86
97	97	91	89
98	98	94	92
99	99	97	96
100	100	100	100

In SILC 2021 the Gini coefficient, expressed as a percentage, was 27.0%, compared with 28.5% in 2020. If calculated before social transfers were included in income, the gini coefficient would have been 43.4%. See table 2.2.

Table 2.2 Gini coefficient, 2020-2021
	2020	2021
Gini coefficient (%)	28.5	27.0

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2021 Table 2.2 (XLS 9KB)

Income Tables 2.3a to 2.8

Open in Excel:

Table 2.3a Median real household disposable income by demographic characteristics and year

Table 2.3b Mean real household disposable income by demographic characteristics and year

Table 2.3b Mean real household disposable income¹ by demographic characteristics and year
				All households
		Mean real household disposable income¹		% change
		2020	2021	2020-2021
		€	€	%
State		52,941	54,930	3.8
Sex (head of household)
	Male	54,565	58,099	6.5
	Female	51,627	52,125	1.0
Age group (head of household)
	18-34	52,402	55,949	6.8
	35-49	58,955	60,645	2.9
	50-64	59,724	63,070	5.6
	65+	37,418	38,178	2.0
Principal Economic Status (head of household)
	Employed	64,975	68,142	4.9
	Unemployed	35,453	39,929	12.6
	Retired	38,752	39,657	2.3
	Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	28,773	28,006	-2.7
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	45,926	46,961	2.3
Highest education level attained (head of household)
	Primary or below	26,986	29,295	8.6
	Lower secondary	37,885	38,880	2.6
	Higher secondary	48,150	53,514	11.1
	Post leaving cert	46,808	47,496	1.5
	Third level non degree	53,069	57,145	7.7
	Third level degree or above	69,308	72,783	5.0
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	22,534	23,761	5.4
	1 adult aged <65	27,828	28,099	1.0
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	46,699	45,765	-2.0
	2 adults, both aged <65	57,674	57,932	0.4
	3 or more adults	81,678	89,220	9.2
	1 adult with children aged under 18	32,364	34,549	6.8
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	68,271	69,536	1.9
	Other households with children aged under 18	75,229	82,278	9.4
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	28,822	29,654	2.9
	1	47,591	51,232	7.7
	2	76,040	77,212	1.5
	3+	96,580	107,268	11.1
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	57,929	60,967	5.2
	Rented or rent free	41,925	41,594	-0.8
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	55,350	56,352	1.8
	Rural areas	48,105	52,137	8.4
Region
	Northern and Western	42,942	48,783	13.6
	Southern	47,676	48,650	2.0
	Eastern and Midland	60,178	61,476	2.2
¹Deflator base year 2019, corresponding with the T-1 income reference period of SILC 2020.

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2021 Table 2.3b (XLS 38KB)

Table 2.3c Median nominal household disposable income by demographic characteristics and year

Table 2.3d Mean nominal household disposable income by demographic characteristics and year

Table 2.3d Mean nominal household disposable income by demographic characteristics and year
				All households
		Mean nominal household disposable income		% change
		2020	2021	2020-2021
		€	€	%
State		52,941	54,746	3.4
Sex (head of household)
	Male	54,565	57,904	6.1
	Female	51,627	51,950	0.6
Age group (head of household)
	18-34	52,402	55,762	6.4
	35-49	58,955	60,442	2.5
	50-64	59,724	62,859	5.2
	65+	37,418	38,050	1.7
Principal Economic Status (head of household)
	Employed	64,975	67,914	4.5
	Unemployed	35,453	39,795	12.2
	Retired	38,752	39,524	2.0
	Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	28,773	27,912	-3.0
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	45,926	46,804	1.9
Highest education level attained (head of household)
	Primary or below	26,986	29,197	8.2
	Lower secondary	37,885	38,750	2.3
	Higher secondary	48,150	53,335	10.8
	Post leaving cert	46,808	47,337	1.1
	Third level non degree	53,069	56,954	7.3
	Third level degree or above	69,308	72,539	4.7
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	22,534	23,681	5.1
	1 adult aged <65	27,828	28,005	0.6
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	46,699	45,612	-2.3
	2 adults, both aged <65	57,674	57,738	0.1
	3 or more adults	81,678	88,921	8.9
	1 adult with children aged under 18	32,364	34,433	6.4
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	68,271	69,303	1.5
	Other households with children aged under 18	75,229	82,002	9.0
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	28,822	29,555	2.5
	1	47,591	51,060	7.3
	2	76,040	76,953	1.2
	3+	96,580	106,909	10.7
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	57,929	60,763	4.9
	Rented or rent free	41,925	41,455	-1.1
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	55,350	56,163	1.5
	Rural areas	48,105	51,962	8.0
Region
	Northern and Western	42,942	48,620	13.2
	Southern	47,676	48,487	1.7
	Eastern and Midland	60,178	61,270	1.8

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2021 Table 2.3d (XLS 39KB)

Table 2.3e Median equivalised real disposable income by demographic characteristics and year

Table 2.3e Median equivalised real disposable income¹ by demographic characteristics and year
				All persons
		Median equivalised real disposable income¹		% change
		2020	2021	2020-2021
		€	€	%
State		24,013	25,349	5.6
Sex
	Male	24,073	25,708	6.8
	Female	23,939	25,146	5.0
Age group
	0-17	22,179	23,799	7.3
	18-34	24,956	27,607	10.6
	35-49	25,667	26,919	4.9
	50-64	25,234	26,734	5.9
	65+	21,754	22,712	4.4
Principal Economic Status
	Employed	28,221	30,368	7.6
	Unemployed	16,920	19,622	16.0
	Retired	22,635	23,248	2.7
	Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	16,670	16,660	-0.1
	Student, pupil	21,112	22,952	8.7
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	18,812	19,717	4.8
Highest education level attained
	Primary or below	17,540	17,964	2.4
	Lower secondary	19,891	20,860	4.9
	Higher secondary	22,860	24,374	6.6
	Post leaving cert	22,140	24,166	9.2
	Third level non degree	26,017	28,102	8.0
	Third level degree or above	32,337	33,451	3.4
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	17,312	18,131	4.7
	1 adult aged <65	23,628	23,233	-1.7
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	22,885	23,604	3.1
	2 adults, both aged <65	32,457	31,890	-1.7
	3 or more adults	27,610	29,629	7.3
	1 adult with children aged under 18	17,855	19,276	8.0
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	24,966	26,407	5.8
	Other households with children aged under 18	20,593	22,288	8.2
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	16,955	17,432	2.8
	1	21,568	23,622	9.5
	2	28,488	30,086	5.6
	3+	27,147	31,396	15.7
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	26,093	28,114	7.7
	Rented or rent free	19,248	20,331	5.6
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	24,730	26,127	5.6
	Rural areas	22,983	24,166	5.1
Region
	Northern and Western	20,465	23,326	14.0
	Southern	22,575	23,893	5.8
	Eastern and Midland	25,868	27,796	7.5
¹Deflator base year 2019, corresponding with the T-1 income reference period of SILC 2020.

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2021 Table 2.3e (XLS 40KB)

Table 2.3f Mean equivalised real disposable income by demographic characteristics and year

Table 2.3f Mean equivalised real disposable income¹by demographic characteristics and year
				All persons
		Mean equivalised real disposable income¹		% change
		2020	2021	2020-2021
		€	€	%
State		27,762	28,850	3.9
Sex
	Male	28,038	29,308	4.5
	Female	27,491	28,399	3.3
Age group
	0-17	25,553	26,342	3.1
	18-34	28,335	30,247	6.7
	35-49	28,969	29,504	1.8
	50-64	29,914	31,640	5.8
	65+	26,203	26,586	1.5
Principal Economic Status
	Employed	32,191	33,565	4.3
	Unemployed	20,210	22,507	11.4
	Retired	26,495	27,077	2.2
	Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	19,257	18,996	-1.4
	Student, pupil	25,431	25,917	1.9
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	22,193	24,739	11.5
Highest education level attained
	Primary or below	19,590	20,304	3.6
	Lower secondary	22,198	23,432	5.6
	Higher secondary	25,845	27,586	6.7
	Post leaving cert	25,443	25,883	1.7
	Third level non degree	28,298	30,464	7.7
	Third level degree or above	35,708	37,448	4.9
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	22,534	23,761	5.4
	1 adult aged <65	27,828	28,099	1.0
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	28,147	27,569	-2.1
	2 adults, both aged <65	35,078	35,121	0.1
	3 or more adults	30,144	33,090	9.8
	1 adult with children aged under 18	19,310	20,456	5.9
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	28,927	29,386	1.6
	Other households with children aged under 18	22,376	24,520	9.6
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	20,233	20,874	3.2
	1	26,020	27,811	6.9
	2	32,686	32,840	0.5
	3+	29,861	34,161	14.4
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	30,017	31,331	4.4
	Rented or rent free	22,667	23,044	1.7
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	28,908	29,862	3.3
	Rural areas	25,433	26,908	5.8
Region
	Northern and Western	23,632	26,414	11.8
	Southern	25,580	26,389	3.2
	Eastern and Midland	30,497	31,223	2.4
¹Deflator base year 2019, corresponding with the T-1 income reference period of SILC 2020.

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2021 Table 2.3f (XLS 39KB)

Table 2.3g Median equivalised nominal disposable income by demographic characteristics and year

Table 2.3h Mean equivalised nominal disposable income by demographic characteristics and year

Table 2.4a Composition of nominal household income and nominal equivalised income by year

Table 2.4b Composition of real household income and real equivalised income by year

Table 2.5a Nominal median income measures by year

Table 2.5b Nominal mean income measures by year

Table 2.6 Average weekly equivalised income by net disposable equivalised income deciles and composition of net equivalised disposable income, 2021

Table 2.6 Average weekly equivalised income by net disposable equivalised income deciles and composition of net equivalised disposable income, 2021^1,2
Decile		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	State
Weekly threshold (€)		< 280.34	<329.20	<376.39	< 432.98	< 484.18	< 547.21	< 618.91	< 707.45	<852.61	> 852.61
Average Weekly Equivalised Income		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€
Market Income
	Employee income¹	58.03	102.97	168.11	256.09	326.04	435.63	560.83	685.93	811.96	1,249.07	465.54
	Employer's social insurance contributions	6.19	9.99	17.47	27.91	36.03	50.49	71.22	90.37	104.70	162.76	57.73
	Self-employment income	11.34	11.85	17.23	23.45	23.26	31.35	41.76	46.48	92.62	243.98	54.34
	Private or occupational pension	2.98	3.70	9.46	14.39	25.48	38.73	39.70	53.42	73.62	110.53	37.21
	Other market income	5.98	3.69	7.57	7.55	14.71	12.47	19.51	16.31	36.17	178.64	30.27
	Total Market Income	84.52	132.20	219.83	329.40	425.52	568.66	733.02	892.52	1,119.07	1,944.99	645.09
Social Transfers
	Unemployment benefits²	47.60	41.96	43.45	39.98	37.36	35.92	27.25	25.11	15.97	12.86	32.74
	Old-age benefits	22.35	77.55	40.07	39.55	35.93	28.43	20.22	24.30	20.56	22.25	33.12
	Family/children related allowances	37.01	32.62	51.62	42.76	39.76	27.56	22.89	17.49	13.11	13.10	29.79
	Housing allowances	9.12	16.32	11.51	9.69	15.43	4.33	4.63	1.19	1.31	1.56	7.51
	Other social transfers	42.43	31.66	29.05	21.77	17.91	13.93	13.80	9.19	9.91	9.36	19.90
	Total Social Transfers	158.51	200.10	175.70	153.76	146.39	110.17	88.80	77.27	60.86	59.12	123.06
Gross Income		243.04	332.30	395.53	483.16	571.90	678.83	821.82	969.79	1,179.93	2,004.11	768.15
Tax and Social Contributions
	Tax on income and social contributions	8.84	13.80	22.38	41.16	62.53	95.81	137.59	180.41	245.97	526.63	133.54
	Employer's social insurance contributions	6.19	9.99	17.47	27.91	36.03	50.49	71.22	90.37	104.70	162.76	57.73
	Pension Contributions	1.25	2.23	3.96	8.37	13.21	15.95	30.12	36.97	50.72	80.46	24.33
	Regular inter-household cash transfers paid	2.03	.93	1.15	1.08	.97	1.37	2.07	1.15	2.15	2.33	1.52
	Total Tax and Social Contributions	18.32	26.96	44.96	78.52	112.74	163.61	241.00	308.90	403.54	772.18	217.12
Net Disposable Income		224.72	305.35	350.58	404.64	459.16	515.22	580.82	660.89	776.39	1231.93	551.03
¹ Employee income includes income from Wage Subsidy Schemes (WSS).
² Unemployment benefits includes income from Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP).

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2021 Table 2.6 (XLS 36KB)

Table 2.7 Average weekly household income by net disposable household income deciles and composition of net household disposable income, 2021

Table 2.7 Average weekly household income by net disposable household income deciles and composition of net household disposable income, 2021^1,2
												€
Decile		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	State
Weekly threshold (€)		<303.38	<468.02	<600.14	<739.36	<890.59	<1,059.74	<1,240.72	<1,475.89	<1,888.56	>1,888.56
Average Weekly household Income
Market Income
	Employee income¹	12.35	65.08	160.07	346.03	483.09	714.45	938.00	1,256.91	1,840.38	2,788.07	860.97
	Employer's social insurance contributions	1.20	5.95	16.37	39.22	55.09	77.38	111.25	155.45	238.41	360.35	106.13
	Self-employment income	7.49	16.51	22.21	34.02	46.89	58.92	77.78	115.42	133.08	525.72	103.90
	Private or occupational pension	2.83	36.14	64.36	72.86	86.98	98.50	107.03	98.48	80.66	174.04	82.22
	Other market income	7.01	14.05	18.78	18.16	29.70	25.32	31.89	53.54	58.93	334.18	59.22
	Total Market Income	30.87	137.72	281.79	510.30	701.76	974.57	1,265.96	1,679.79	2,351.45	4,182.37	1,212.44
Social Transfers
	Unemployment benefits²	22.67	48.42	58.85	68.09	77.44	69.92	78.83	61.77	64.09	63.70	61.38
	Old-age benefits	105.42	108.11	156.47	96.33	88.92	55.80	46.80	35.69	25.86	32.46	75.17
	Family/children related allowances	10.43	20.47	42.80	63.56	65.37	56.78	69.03	62.64	56.15	42.68	48.99
	Housing allowances	26.13	31.12	20.57	21.50	20.05	11.09	8.76	6.74	3.90	0.80	15.06
	Other social transfers	61.66	52.05	33.50	35.71	41.82	54.49	41.98	38.61	23.22	22.35	40.54
	Total Social Transfers	226.32	260.17	312.19	285.19	293.59	248.08	245.40	205.44	173.21	162.00	241.13
Gross Income		257.19	397.89	593.98	795.48	995.35	1,222.65	1,511.36	1,885.23	2,524.67	4,344.37	1,453.57
Tax and Social Contributions
	Tax on income and social contributions	4.32	12.74	31.76	69.20	107.41	147.90	211.63	313.97	517.09	1,077.42	249.54
	Employer's social insurance contributions	1.20	5.95	16.37	39.22	55.09	77.38	111.25	155.45	238.41	360.35	106.13
	Pension Contributions	1.26	1.91	4.53	11.60	24.54	22.04	39.99	63.49	104.36	181.14	45.52
	Regular inter-household cash transfers paid	3.80	2.58	3.73	1.82	2.95	3.14	3.08	4.34	2.74	3.84	3.20
	Total Tax and Social Contributions	10.57	23.18	56.40	121.85	189.99	250.47	365.95	537.25	862.59	1,622.74	404.39
Net Disposable Income		246.62	374.71	537.58	673.64	805.37	972.19	1,145.40	1,347.98	1,662.08	2,721.63	1,049.18
¹ Employee income includes income from Wage Subsidy Schemes (WSS).
² Unemployment benefits includes income from Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP).

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2021 Table 2.7 (XLS 36KB)

Table 2.8 Demographic characteristics of individuals by net disposable equivalised income deciles, 2021

Table 2.8 Demographic characteristics of individuals by net disposable equivalised income deciles, 2021
%
Decile		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	State
Weekly threshold (€)		< 280.34	< 329.20	< 376.39	< 432.98	< 484.18	< 547.21	< 618.91	<707.45	<852.61	>852.61
Distribution across deciles
Sex
	Male	9.6	9.2	10.1	9.7	10.4	10.2	10.1	10.2	10.2	10.4	100
	Female	10.4	10.8	9.9	10.3	9.6	9.8	10.0	9.9	9.8	9.6	100
Age group
	0-17	12.4	9.3	12.3	11.6	11.4	10.5	9.6	8.5	7.5	6.8	100
	18-34	7.3	7.3	9.6	9.0	10.8	9.8	11.2	12.6	11.2	11.1	100
	35-49	8.7	8.2	9.2	9.6	8.7	11.2	10.4	11.0	12.2	10.9	100
	50-64	12.8	7.9	7.8	9.2	8.4	8.7	11.2	9.4	11.2	13.5	100
	65+	8.3	20.4	10.7	10.4	10.5	9.0	7.1	8.0	7.5	8.0	100
Principal Economic Status (aged 16 years and over)
	Employed	3.7	4.5	6.7	8.7	9.4	10.8	12.6	13.8	14.6	15.2	100
	Unemployed	21.5	15.4	14.3	12.0	8.7	7.2	6.2	7.8	4.6	2.2	100
	Retired	8.7	19.3	10.1	9.5	10.0	8.9	7.9	8.5	8.3	8.7	100
	Unable to work dut to long-standing health problems	33.4	20.8	12.7	10.8	7.0	6.1	3.3	1.8	1.6	2.5	100
	Student, pupil	15.1	11.2	11.4	11.1	11.4	10.2	9.6	7.6	6.7	5.7	100
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	15.8	18.5	15.6	12.2	10.2	9.1	6.5	3.1	3.4	5.6	100
Highest education level attained (aged 16 years and over)
	Primary or below	19.3	27.1	13.5	13.5	7.1	7.1	4.4	3.6	2.7	1.8	100
	Lower secondary	16.7	15.3	13.4	12.0	11.1	9.1	8.3	5.6	5.2	3.4	100
	Higher secondary	10.4	11.2	9.3	11.4	11.7	10.5	9.9	9.9	8.1	7.6	100
	Post leaving cert	9.0	11.2	13.5	11.0	10.4	12.5	10.2	7.8	9.7	4.6	100
	Third level non degree	4.3	5.9	9.7	11.2	9.0	13.2	13.0	11.2	12.4	10.1	100
	Third level degree or above	3.8	3.0	4.4	5.3	8.2	8.9	12.1	15.5	17.2	21.5	100
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	13.6	33.3	8.5	7.3	7.6	8.1	5.3	4.3	4.5	7.5	100
	1 adult aged <65	27.7	9.3	4.9	7.1	4.2	5.5	7.4	8.8	12.9	12.1	100
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	7.1	15.2	12.3	11.2	12.0	9.6	8.1	8.6	7.7	8.1	100
	2 adults, both aged <65	7.0	3.9	6.7	7.4	7.3	7.9	11.3	12.3	17.4	18.8	100
	3 or more adults	4.2	5.7	8.3	8.0	9.9	10.6	12.1	13.6	13.5	14.2	100
	1 adult with children aged under 18	21.5	12.7	18.5	14.0	16.9	7.3	4.4	1.6	0.5	2.7	100
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	8.2	7.9	8.9	9.9	10.9	12.0	10.4	11.2	10.4	10.1	100
	Other households with children aged under 18	12.3	11.4	14.3	13.7	9.9	10.1	11.2	8.0	5.7	3.3	100
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	25.3	22.9	13.1	9.7	8.5	5.3	3.7	4.0	3.6	3.8	100
	1	10.6	10.4	13.8	11.3	11.7	10.4	9.9	6.6	7.7	7.6	100
	2	2.6	4.1	5.3	10.4	10.0	12.5	12.5	14.0	14.5	14.1	100
	3+	2.4	3.1	9.6	5.4	8.5	9.5	14.8	17.6	13.8	15.2	100
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	6.8	8.2	7.7	9.6	9.2	10.4	11.3	11.9	12.6	12.4	100
	Rented or rent free	17.4	14.3	15.4	10.9	12.0	9.0	7.1	5.6	3.9	4.3	100
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	8.9	9.5	10.5	8.6	9.7	10.0	9.8	10.7	10.6	11.6	100
	Rural areas	12.0	11.0	9.1	12.7	10.6	9.8	10.4	8.6	8.8	7.0	100
Region
	Northern and Western	16.1	10.2	11.7	10.0	9.1	9.7	10.3	9.0	7.2	6.6	100
	Southern	11.3	12.6	10.9	10.4	11.9	10.8	7.9	9.3	7.7	7.2	100
	Eastern and Midland	7.1	8.3	8.9	9.7	9.1	9.5	11.3	10.8	12.4	12.9	100

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2021 Table 2.8 (XLS 40KB)

View Tables on PxStat

Next chapter: Poverty and Deprivation

Contact:

Central Statistics Office
Skehard Road, Cork T12 X00E, Ireland

Tel:

(+353) 21 453 5000

E-Mail:

information@cso.ie

Careers

You can count on a rewarding career with the CSO.

Learn about our variety of roles and the benefits of working with the CSO.

Table 2.4b Composition of real household income^1,2 and real equivalised income^1,2 by year
€
		Real household income¹,²		Real equivalised income¹,²
		2020	2021	2020	2021
Average Weekly Income
Market Income
	Employee income	842.56	863.86	453.67	467.10
	Employer's social insurance contributions	103.54	106.49	55.97	57.92
	Self-employment income	123.31	104.25	65.28	54.52
	Private or occupational pension	83.59	82.50	37.64	37.34
	Other market income	58.86	59.42	29.67	30.37
	Total direct income	1,211.86	1,216.51	642.22	647.26
Social Transfers
	Unemployment related payments	26.95	61.59	14.44	32.85
	Old-age related payments	71.23	75.42	31.35	33.23
	Family/children related allowances	48.50	49.15	29.43	29.89
	Housing allowances	14.72	15.11	7.56	7.54
	Other social transfers	39.13	40.68	19.27	19.97
	Total social transfers	200.53	241.94	102.05	123.47
Gross Income		1,412.39	1,458.45	744.27	770.73
Tax and Social Contributions
	Tax on income and social contributions	251.18	250.38	133.53	133.99
	Employer's social insurance contributions	103.54	106.49	55.97	57.92
	Pension contributions	37.97	45.67	20.35	24.41
	Regular inter-household cash transfers paid	5.10	3.21	2.38	1.53
	Total Tax and Social Contributions	397.80	405.75	212.23	217.85
Net Disposable Income		1,014.59	1,052.71	532.04	552.88
¹Household income is averaged over households while equivalised income is averaged over individuals within the household.
²Deflator base year 2019, corresponding with the T-1 income reference period of SILC 2020.

Table 2.5a Nominal median income measures¹ by year
€
		2020	2021
National income definition
	Total gross household income	55,259	56,659
	Total disposable household income	43,915	46,471
National income definition, national equivalence scale
	Equivalised total disposable income	24,013	25,264
	Equivalised total disposable income excluding all social transfers	19,759	19,796
	Equivalised total disposable income excluding all social transfers and public sector pensions	18,987	19,040
¹Gross and disposable household income is averaged over households, while equivalised income is averaged over individuals within the household.

Table 2.5b Nominal mean income measures¹ by year
€
		2020	2021
National income definition
	Total gross household income	73,698	75,847
	Total disposable household income	52,941	54,746
National income definition, national equivalence scale
	Equivalised total disposable income	27,762	28,753
	Equivalised total disposable income excluding all social transfers	22,437	22,331
	Equivalised total disposable income excluding all social transfers and public sector pensions	21,384	21,340
¹Gross and disposable household income is averaged over households, while equivalised income is averaged over individuals within the household.

Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2021

Income

One in four households consisting of one adult with children were in arrears on utility bills

Household Income

Equivalised Income

Composition of Income

Distribution of Income

Equality of Income

Gini Coefficient

Income Tables 2.3a to 2.8

Contents

Related

Contact:

Links:

Careers

Follow:

Table 2.3a Median real household disposable income¹ by demographic characteristics and year
				All households
		Median real household disposable income¹		% change
		2020	2021	2020-2021
		€	€	%
State		43,915	46,627	6.2
Sex (head of household)
	Male	44,519	49,434	11.0
	Female	43,235	43,750	1.2
Age group (head of household)
	18-34	49,035	51,716	5.5
	35-49	53,738	55,998	4.2
	50-64	46,871	50,204	7.1
	65+	29,106	29,532	1.5
Principal Economic Status (head of household)
	Employed	57,124	60,823	6.5
	Unemployed	27,557	34,017	23.4
	Retired	30,260	30,283	0.1
	Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	20,049	19,357	-3.5
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	39,723	39,889	0.4
Highest education level attained (head of household)
	Primary or below	24,196	24,743	2.3
	Lower secondary	32,150	31,805	-1.1
	Higher secondary	42,642	47,373	11.1
	Post leaving cert	41,401	42,265	2.1
	Third level non degree	45,735	50,550	10.5
	Third level degree or above	58,714	64,129	9.2
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	17,312	18,131	4.7
	1 adult aged <65	23,628	23,233	-1.7
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	37,911	39,182	3.4
	2 adults, both aged <65	53,582	52,878	-1.3
	3 or more adults	75,285	77,732	3.3
	1 adult with children aged under 18	29,506	33,516	13.6
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	58,008	62,723	8.1
	Other households with children aged under 18	66,754	72,663	8.9
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	24,892	25,479	2.4
	1	40,480	42,070	3.9
	2	66,651	70,218	5.4
	3+	87,855	96,369	9.7
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	49,818	53,104	6.6
	Rented or rent free	36,366	37,829	4.0
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	45,592	48,261	5.9
	Rural areas	40,277	42,977	6.7
Region
	Northern and Western	35,076	38,311	9.2
	Southern	40,640	41,533	2.2
	Eastern and Midland	50,513	53,078	5.1
¹Deflator base year 2019, corresponding with the T-1 income reference period of SILC 2020.

Table 2.3c Median nominal household disposable income by demographic characteristics and year
				All households
		Median nominal household disposable income		% change
		2020	2021	2020-2021
		€	€	%
State		43,915	46,471	5.8
Sex (head of household)
	Male	44,519	49,268	10.7
	Female	43,235	43,603	0.9
Age group (head of household)
	18-34	49,035	51,543	5.1
	35-49	53,738	55,810	3.9
	50-64	46,871	50,036	6.8
	65+	29,106	29,433	1.1
Principal Economic Status (head of household)
	Employed	57,124	60,619	6.1
	Unemployed	27,557	33,903	23.0
	Retired	30,260	30,182	-0.3
	Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	20,049	19,292	-3.8
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	39,723	39,755	0.1
Highest education level attained (head of household)
	Primary or below	24,196	24,660	1.9
	Lower secondary	32,150	31,698	-1.4
	Higher secondary	42,642	47,214	10.7
	Post leaving cert	41,401	42,123	1.7
	Third level non degree	45,735	50,381	10.2
	Third level degree or above	58,714	63,914	8.9
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	17,312	18,070	4.4
	1 adult aged <65	23,628	23,155	-2.0
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	37,911	39,051	3.0
	2 adults, both aged <65	53,582	52,701	-1.6
	3 or more adults	75,285	77,472	2.9
	1 adult with children aged under 18	29,506	33,404	13.2
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	58,008	62,513	7.8
	Other households with children aged under 18	66,754	72,420	8.5
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	24,892	25,394	2.0
	1	40,480	41,929	3.6
	2	66,651	69,983	5.0
	3+	87,855	96,046	9.3
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	49,818	52,926	6.2
	Rented or rent free	36,366	37,702	3.7
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	45,592	48,099	5.5
	Rural areas	40,277	42,833	6.3
Region
	Northern and Western	35,076	38,183	8.9
	Southern	40,640	41,394	1.9
	Eastern and Midland	50,513	52,900	4.7

Table 2.3g Median equivalised nominal disposable income by demographic characteristics and year
				All persons
		Median equivalised nominal disposable income		% change
		2020	2021	2020-2021
		€	€	%
State		24,013	25,264	5.2
Sex
	Male	24,073	25,622	6.4
	Female	23,939	25,062	4.7
Age group
	0-17	22,179	23,719	6.9
	18-34	24,956	27,515	10.3
	35-49	25,667	26,829	4.5
	50-64	25,234	26,644	5.6
	65+	21,754	22,636	4.1
Principal Economic Status
	Employed	28,221	30,266	7.2
	Unemployed	16,920	19,556	15.6
	Retired	22,635	23,170	2.4
	Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	16,670	16,604	-0.4
	Student, pupil	21,112	22,875	8.4
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	18,812	19,651	4.5
Highest education level attained
	Primary or below	17,540	17,904	2.1
	Lower secondary	19,891	20,790	4.5
	Higher secondary	22,860	24,292	6.3
	Post leaving cert	22,140	24,085	8.8
	Third level non degree	26,017	28,008	7.7
	Third level degree or above	32,337	33,339	3.1
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	17,312	18,070	4.4
	1 adult aged <65	23,628	23,155	-2.0
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	22,885	23,525	2.8
	2 adults, both aged <65	32,457	31,783	-2.1
	3 or more adults	27,610	29,530	7.0
	1 adult with children aged under 18	17,855	19,211	7.6
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	24,966	26,319	5.4
	Other households with children aged under 18	20,593	22,213	7.9
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	16,955	17,374	2.5
	1	21,568	23,543	9.2
	2	28,488	29,985	5.3
	3+	27,147	31,291	15.3
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	26,093	28,020	7.4
	Rented or rent free	19,248	20,263	5.3
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	24,730	26,040	5.3
	Rural areas	22,983	24,085	4.8
Region
	Northern and Western	20,465	23,248	13.6
	Southern	22,575	23,813	5.5
	Eastern and Midland	25,868	27,703	7.1

Table 2.3h Mean equivalised nominal disposable income by demographic characteristics and year
				All persons
		Mean equivalised nominal disposable income		% change
		2020	2021	2020-2021
		€	€	%
State		27,762	28,753	3.6
Sex
	Male	28,038	29,210	4.2
	Female	27,491	28,304	3.0
Age group
	0-17	25,553	26,254	2.7
	18-34	28,335	30,146	6.4
	35-49	28,969	29,405	1.5
	50-64	29,914	31,534	5.4
	65+	26,203	26,497	1.1
Principal Economic Status
	Employed	32,191	33,453	3.9
	Unemployed	20,210	22,432	11.0
	Retired	26,495	26,986	1.9
	Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	19,257	18,932	-1.7
	Student, pupil	25,431	25,830	1.6
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	22,193	24,656	11.1
Highest education level attained
	Primary or below	19,590	20,236	3.3
	Lower secondary	22,198	23,354	5.2
	Higher secondary	25,845	27,494	6.4
	Post leaving cert	25,443	25,796	1.4
	Third level non degree	28,298	30,362	7.3
	Third level degree or above	35,708	37,323	4.5
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	22,534	23,681	5.1
	1 adult aged <65	27,828	28,005	0.6
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	28,147	27,477	-2.4
	2 adults, both aged <65	35,078	35,003	-0.2
	3 or more adults	30,144	32,979	9.4
	1 adult with children aged under 18	19,310	20,387	5.6
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	28,927	29,288	1.2
	Other households with children aged under 18	22,376	24,438	9.2
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	20,233	20,804	2.8
	1	26,020	27,718	6.5
	2	32,686	32,730	0.1
	3+	29,861	34,047	14.0
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	30,017	31,226	4.0
	Rented or rent free	22,667	22,967	1.3
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	28,908	29,762	3.0
	Rural areas	25,433	26,818	5.4
Region
	Northern and Western	23,632	26,326	11.4
	Southern	25,580	26,301	2.8
	Eastern and Midland	30,497	31,118	2.0

Table 2.4a Composition of nominal household income¹ and nominal equivalised income¹ by year
					€
		Nominal household income¹		Nominal equivalised income¹
		2020	2021	2020	2021
Average Weekly Income
Market Income
	Employee income	842.56	860.97	453.67	465.54
	Employer's social insurance contributions	103.54	106.13	55.97	57.73
	Self-employment income	123.31	103.90	65.28	54.34
	Private or occupational pension	83.59	82.22	37.64	37.21
	Other market income	58.86	59.22	29.67	30.27
	Total market income	1,211.86	1,212.44	642.22	645.09
Social Transfers
	Unemployment related payments	26.95	61.38	14.44	32.74
	Old-age related payments	71.23	75.17	31.35	33.12
	Family/children related allowances	48.50	48.99	29.43	29.79
	Housing allowances	14.72	15.06	7.56	7.51
	Other social transfers	39.13	40.54	19.27	19.90
	Total social transfers	200.53	241.13	102.05	123.06
Gross Income		1,412.39	1,453.57	744.27	768.15
Tax and Social Contributions
	Tax on income and social contributions	251.18	249.54	133.53	133.54
	Employer's social insurance contributions	103.54	106.13	55.97	57.73
	Pension contributions	37.97	45.52	20.35	24.33
	Regular inter-household cash transfers paid	5.10	3.20	2.38	1.52
	Total Tax and Social Contributions	397.80	404.39	212.23	217.12
Net Disposable Income		1,014.59	1,049.18	532.04	551.03
¹ Household income is averaged over households while equivalised income is averaged over individuals within the household.