Census Profile · Kerry · 2022

County Kerry — High internal ED variation

Kerry's county-level Census 2022 figures sit close to national averages. Employment is 52.9% (national: 56.1%), home ownership 69.9% (national: 65.9%). County averages suppress the internal variation that makes the data meaningful. The gap between the highest and lowest unemployment electoral divisions within Kerry exceeds 15 percentage points — a spread the county headline cannot show.

Kerry employment rate is -3.2pp vs national.

Key statistics — County Kerry

Employment Rate
52.9%
-3.2pp vs national
Owner-Occupied
69.9%
National: 65.9%
Third-Level
38.9%
National: 42.4%
Unemployment
5.3%
National: 5.1%

Top electoral divisions — Unemployment in Kerry

The electoral divisions within County Kerry with the highest unemployment rate, Census 2022.

Electoral DivisionUnemployment Rate
1. ARABELA 14.3%
2. TRALEE URBAN 10.1%
3. CAHER 9.2%
4. BALLYBRACK 8.8%
5. LISTOWEL URBAN 7.9%

Explore Kerry data on the map

Every electoral division in County Kerry is mapped. Hover to inspect Census 2022 figures or ask the AI analyst for a plain-language explanation.

High internal ED variation — Kerry map Employment — Kerry Housing — Kerry

County Kerry — what stands out

What stands out?
County Kerry has one of Ireland's highest housing vacancy rates, ranking 3rd nationally — 25.2% in Census 2022.
Why does it matter?
Housing vacancy is a barometer of housing demand and population pressure. A high rate signals supply vastly exceeding demand — whether from rural depopulation, seasonal use, or post-2008 ghost estates. A low rate signals the opposite: demand that supply cannot match, which directly drives rent and price inflation.
How does it compare nationally?
Kerry25.2%
National avg14.2%
Difference+11.0pp
Rank3 / 26
What's the likely explanation?
Kerry's car commute profile reflects a tourism-dependent economy with dispersed settlement and limited public transport. The county has few large employers outside hospitality and retail — and those jobs are concentrated in towns that many residents must drive to. The Wild Atlantic Way draws visitors but does not generate the volume of year-round, high-income employment that would reduce car dependence. Rail connections are limited to Tralee and Killarney, leaving the bulk of the county road-dependent.

Why Kerry looks the way it does

Kerry's economy is shaped by tourism at a scale most counties don't see. The Ring of Kerry, a coastal circuit of the Iveragh Peninsula, is the most-travelled tourist route in Ireland, and Kerry is the southern gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way — a signed coastal driving route stretching 2,500km along the west coast. Tourism revenue flows disproportionately into towns like Kenmare and Killarney, concentrating hospitality and retail employment there rather than spreading it evenly across the county.

That concentration is also why Kerry's commuting figures on this site skew so heavily toward cars: a tourism- and hospitality-led economy with dispersed rural settlement and limited rail (Tralee and Killarney are the only stations) leaves most residents without a practical public-transport alternative.

Sources: Wild Atlantic Way — Ring of Kerry

County Kerry — census data context

County-level figures aggregate all electoral divisions within Kerry. The map reveals the internal variation those county averages suppress — the gap between the most and least deprived EDs in Kerry is typically far wider than the county-to-national difference highlighted above. View the full Kerry area guide →

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Ireland census guides

→ Where to live in Ireland → Housing crisis by area → Home ownership rates → Education levels → Unemployment by area → Commuter towns → Deprivation map → Population growth
Data: CSO Census 2022 · County Kerry · Electoral Division averages · cso.ie/census