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Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2023

Equivalised Income

Increase in equivalised income in SILC 2023. However, after adjusting for inflation real equivalised income falls

Online ISSN: 2009-5937

CSO statistical publication, 07 March 2024, 11am

The income reference period of SILC in year T is the calendar year T-1, i.e. for SILC 2023 the income relates to Jan-Dec 2022.

€27,597

Median equivalised disposable income of individuals in 2023

Up 2.8%

Adjusting for inflation, income Down 4.6% in 2023

Source: CSO Ireland, Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2023

Real and Nominal Equivalised Income

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, thus allowing for analysis at an individualised level. However, when analysing by individual characteristics, it should be borne in mind that equivalised income is influenced by the income of all household members. See At Risk of Poverty Indicators Explained (PDF 1,094KB) .

The median equivalised disposable income in SILC 2023 was €27,597, representing an increase of €746 (2.8%) from the previous year. The corresponding at risk of poverty threshold (i.e. 60% of the median) stood at €16,588 in SILC 2023, compared with €16,111 in SILC 2022.

Using a base income year of 2019 to adjust for inflation, the real median equivalised disposable income in SILC 2023 was €25,101, a decrease of 4.6% from €26,324 on the previous year. The real at risk of poverty threshold was €15,061 in SILC 2023, down from €15,794 in the previous year. See figure 3.1 and tables 3.1a & 3.1c.

X-axis label	Real Median	Nominal Median	Real Mean	Nominal Mean
2021	25793	25707	29216	29118
2022	26324	26851	29829	30427
2023	25101	27597	29049	31937

Persons that were unemployed had the lowest equivalised disposable income in SILC 2023

Analysis by Principal Economic Status (PES) shows that persons that were unemployed had the lowest equivalised disposable income (€18,902) followed by persons unable to work due to long-standing health problems (€20,213). The comparable figure for employed persons was €31,997. See figure 3.2 and table 3.1a.

X-axis label	2021	2022	2023
Employed	30379	30989	31977
Unemployed	19596	17702	18902
Retired	23690	23824	26100
Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	17374	19411	20213
Student, pupil	22875	25411	25567
Fulfilling domestic tasks	20329	20461	22461

After adjusting for inflation, the only real gains in equivalised income were experienced by retired persons and those fulfilling domestic tasks. For all others, by PES, the gains in nominal income were not sufficient to counteract the effects of inflation.

The largest year-on-year change in nominal equivalised disposable income was seen in persons fulfilling domestic tasks, which increased by 9.8% to €22,461 when compared with SILC 2022. When account is taken for inflation, real equivalised disposable income increased by 1.8% in the year for these individuals.

Persons describing themselves as employed saw their nominal equivalised disposable income increase by 3.2% in SILC 2023 but fell 4.3% after adjusting for inflation. See figure 3.3 and tables 3.1a & 3.1c.

Principal Economic Status is self-defined at the time of interview (first six months of 2023), whereas the income reference period is the 2022 calendar year, thus the two may not always perfectly align.

X-axis label	Nominal Median- % change 2022 to 2023	Real Median- % change 2022 to 2023
Employed	3.2	-4.3
Unemployed	6.8	-0.9
Retired	9.6	1.6
Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	4.1	-3.4
Student, pupil	0.6	-6.7
Fulfilling domestic tasks	9.8	1.8

Nominal equivalised disposable income follows a general upward trajectory as the level of education increases. Individuals with the highest level of educational attainment (of third level degree or higher) had the highest median equivalised disposable income of the categories analysed in SILC 2023, at €36,481. This compares with €22,000 for those with primary level education or lower.

Those persons with the highest level of educational attainment of primary level education or lower saw the largest increase in their nominal median equivalised disposable income, increasing 17.3% in SILC 2023. This compares with an increase of 0.8% for those with higher secondary education. See figure 3.4 and table 3.1a.

When adjusted for inflation real equivalised disposable income increased in SILC 2023 for those persons with a highest level of educational attainment of primary level education or lower (+8.8%) and those with third level non-degrees (+2.5%). Real equivalised disposable income fell for all other highest level of educational attainment groups in 2023. See table 3.1c.

	2023	2022	2021
Third level degree or above	36481	34460	33360
Third level non degree	29773	26961	28008
Post leaving cert	26735	25200	24372
Higher secondary	26770	26552	24929
Lower secondary	23193	22737	21226
Primary or below	22000	18760	18500

Distribution of Equivalised Income

Over half of unemployed persons are in the lowest income quintile

Ranking persons from lowest nominal equivalised disposable income to highest and dividing by five allows us to split the population into quintiles.

More than one in two unemployed people (52.5%) and two in five of those unable to work due to long-standing health problems (42.3%) are in the first equivalised disposable income quintile (i.e. the lowest 20% of the net disposable equivalised income distribution). This compares with one in ten (10.8%) of those that are employed.

Individuals who are unable to work due to long-standing health problems are least likely to be in the top equivalised disposable income quintile (i.e. the highest 20% of the net disposable equivalised income distribution), with 4.8% of these individuals in this quintile in SILC 2023. Over one quarter (27.5%) of individuals in employment are in the top equivalised disposable income quintile. See figure 3.4 and table 3.2.

Share of income (%)	Quintile 5	Quintile 4	Quintile 3	Quintile 2	Quintile 1
Employed	27.5	24.9	21.2	15.6	10.8
Retired	18.3	18.1	18.7	20.4	24.5
Student, pupil	12.9	16.9	21.6	25.1	23.4
Fulfilling domestic tasks	9.6	7.9	20	29.8	32.6
Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	4.8	10.9	10.2	31.9	42.3
Unemployed	8	5.9	7.9	25.7	52.5

Impact of Social Transfers on Equivalised Income

If income from social transfers was deducted from disposable income, the median equivalised disposable income for all people in the State would have decreased from €27,597 to €23,156. See table 3.3a.

Composition of Equivalised Income

Persons in lower income deciles are most reliant on income from social transfers

In SILC 2023, the nominal mean weekly equivalised gross income was €887, an increase of 5.5% on the previous year. After deductions of €274, the nominal mean weekly equivalised disposable income was €612. On average, equivalised market income amounted to €774 each week (87.3% of gross income), compared with €113 in social transfers (12.7% of gross income). See table 3.4a.

As was seen in the previous chapter for household income, the share of mean equivalised gross income coming from market income increases with each increasing income decile. Market income accounts for an average of 47.1% of gross mean equivalised gross income for individuals in the first decile, 82.7% of income for those in the fifth decile and 97.9% of gross mean equivalised gross income for those in the tenth decile.

Social transfers represented a decreasing proportion of mean equivalised gross income with each increasing income decile. For individuals in the first equivalised gross income decile, social transfers accounted for an average 52.9% of their income. This fell to 17.3% of equivalised gross income for those in the fifth decile and 2.1% for those on the tenth decile.

Total deductions, such as tax and social contributions, accounted for 9.1% of the equivalised gross income decile for individuals in the first decile, 23.2% of gross income for those in the fifth decile and 41.9% of gross income for those in the tenth decile. See figure 3.6 and table 3.5.

X-axis label	Total social transfers	Total market income	Total deducations	Net disposable income
1st decile	146	129	-25	250
2nd decile	189	189	-38	340
3rd decile	168	290	-67	391
4th decile	141	426	-119	447
5th decile	113	538	-151	500
6th decile	100	656	-195	561
7th decile	83	824	-268	639
8th decile	80	994	-349	725
9th decile	53	1308	-511	850
10th decile	52	2385	-1021	1416
State	113	774	-274	612

Table 3.1a Median equivalised nominal disposable income by demographic characteristics and year

Table 3.1a Median equivalised nominal disposable income by demographic characteristics and year¹
All persons
		Median equivalised nominal disposable income (€)			% change
		2021	2022	2023	2021-2022	2022-2023
State		25,707	26,851	27,597	4.5	2.8
Sex
	Male	26,032	27,211	28,141	4.5	3.4
	Female	25,487	26,342	27,092	3.4	2.8
Age group
	0-17	23,967	24,226	25,224	1.1	4.1
	18-34	27,567	29,448	29,130	6.8	-1.1
	35-49	27,160	27,372	29,001	0.8	6.0
	50-64	27,307	28,626	29,578	4.8	3.3
	65+	23,254	23,046	25,986	-0.9	12.8
Principal Economic Status
	Employed	30,379	30,989	31,977	2.0	3.2
	Unemployed	19,596	17,702	18,902	-9.7	6.8
	Retired	23,690	23,824	26,100	0.6	9.6
	Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	17,374	19,411	20,213	11.7	4.1
	Student, pupil	22,875	25,411	25,567	11.1	0.6
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	20,329	20,461	22,461	0.6	9.8
Highest education level attained
	Primary or below	18,500	18,760	22,000	1.4	17.3
	Lower secondary	21,226	22,737	23,193	7.1	2.0
	Higher secondary	24,929	26,552	26,770	6.5	0.8
	Post leaving cert	24,372	25,200	26,735	3.4	6.1
	Third level non degree	28,008	26,961	29,773	-3.7	10.4
	Third level degree or above	33,360	34,460	36,481	3.3	5.9
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	17,690	16,826	19,753	-4.9	17.4
	1 adult aged <65	24,136	23,994	27,405	-0.6	14.2
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	23,451	23,371	26,629	-0.3	13.9
	2 adults, both aged <65	32,105	35,578	36,791	10.8	3.4
	3 or more adults	29,207	30,495	31,109	4.4	2.0
	1 adult with children aged under 18	20,023	18,886	21,634	-5.7	14.6
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	26,473	27,138	28,106	2.5	3.6
	Other households with children aged under 18	22,358	24,135	23,431	7.9	-2.9
Household type
	One person household	20,436	20,412	23,405	-0.1	14.7
	Lone parent with at least one child aged less than 25	19,800	19,479	22,725	-1.6	16.7
	Lone parent with all children aged 25 or more	23,052	28,100	27,105	21.9	-3.5
	Couple without any child(ren)	30,103	31,711	33,871	5.3	6.8
	Couple with at least one child aged less than 25	26,611	27,161	27,630	2.1	1.7
	Couple with all children aged 25 or more	31,424	30,622	34,095	-2.6	11.3
	Other type of household	23,278	26,031	26,383	11.8	1.4
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	17,500	17,767	19,959	1.5	12.3
	1	23,719	23,854	23,753	0.6	-0.4
	2	30,146	30,840	32,031	2.3	3.9
	3+	31,731	32,256	31,822	1.7	-1.3
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	28,320	29,282	30,515	3.4	4.2
	Rented or rent free	21,039	20,447	21,927	-2.8	7.2
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	26,569	27,372	27,919	3.0	2.0
	Rural areas	24,308	25,260	26,826	3.9	6.2
Region
	Northern and Western	23,315	23,209	24,252	-0.5	4.5
	Southern	24,456	25,664	26,414	4.9	2.9
	Eastern and Midland	28,140	29,282	29,851	4.1	1.9
¹ Data for 2021 and 2022 was updated on 07/03/2024. Please see information note for details https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/in/silc/informationnotecensusrevisions-silc2020to2022/.

Open in Excel: Survey On Income and Living Conditions 2023 Table 3.1a (XLS 13KB)

Table 3.1b Mean equivalised nominal disposable income by demographic characteristics and year

Table 3.1b Mean equivalised nominal disposable income by demographic characteristics and year¹
All persons
		Mean equivalised nominal disposable income (€)			% change
		2021	2022	2023	2021-2022	2022-2023
State		29,118	30,427	31,937	4.5	5.0
Sex
	Male	29,542	30,843	32,368	4.4	4.9
	Female	28,702	30,021	31,517	4.6	5.0
Age group
	0-17	26,422	27,807	28,948	5.2	4.1
	18-34	30,497	32,292	32,135	5.9	-0.5
	35-49	29,622	30,590	32,628	3.3	6.7
	50-64	32,000	33,729	35,402	5.4	5.0
	65+	27,106	27,610	31,082	1.9	12.6
Principal Economic Status
	Employed	33,606	34,524	35,934	2.7	4.1
	Unemployed	22,617	19,809	22,421	-12.4	13.2
	Retired	27,321	28,502	30,754	4.3	7.9
	Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	19,814	22,339	22,768	12.7	1.9
	Student, pupil	26,150	29,188	30,429	11.6	4.3
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	25,400	24,231	26,225	-4.6	8.2
Highest education level attained
	Primary or below	20,725	21,108	23,850	1.8	13.0
	Lower secondary	23,644	25,370	26,745	7.3	5.4
	Higher secondary	27,866	28,822	29,690	3.4	3.0
	Post leaving cert	26,063	27,372	28,797	5.0	5.2
	Third level non degree	30,503	31,159	32,961	2.2	5.8
	Third level degree or above	37,361	39,125	41,296	4.7	5.5
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	23,577	23,675	26,487	0.4	11.9
	1 adult aged <65	28,527	30,651	30,578	7.4	-0.2
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	27,666	28,679	32,436	3.7	13.1
	2 adults, both aged <65	34,825	37,811	41,917	8.6	10.9
	3 or more adults	33,036	34,280	35,037	3.8	2.2
	1 adult with children aged under 18	20,823	20,663	24,440	-0.8	18.3
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	29,501	30,002	31,458	1.7	4.9
	Other households with children aged under 18	24,594	26,707	26,182	8.6	-2.0
Household type
	One person household	26,256	27,602	28,748	5.1	4.2
	Lone parent with at least one child aged less than 25	21,828	21,732	24,943	-0.4	14.8
	Lone parent with all children aged 25 or more	25,115	28,311	29,323	12.7	3.6
	Couple without any child(ren)	33,590	35,608	40,041	6.0	12.4
	Couple with at least one child aged less than 25	29,592	30,838	31,078	4.2	0.8
	Couple with all children aged 25 or more	34,948	34,430	36,486	-1.5	6.0
	Other type of household	27,212	28,553	30,330	4.9	6.2
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	20,903	22,191	24,064	6.2	8.4
	1	27,741	28,284	29,444	2.0	4.1
	2	32,785	34,021	35,640	3.8	4.8
	3+	35,269	34,194	35,387	-3.0	3.5
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	31,580	33,100	35,263	4.8	6.5
	Rented or rent free	23,416	24,050	24,431	2.7	1.6
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	30,102	31,598	32,777	5.0	3.7
	Rural areas	27,255	28,009	30,195	2.8	7.8
Region
	Northern and Western	26,657	26,391	27,094	-1.0	2.7
	Southern	26,710	28,733	30,836	7.6	7.3
	Eastern and Midland	31,572	32,941	34,316	4.3	4.2
¹ Data for 2021 and 2022 was updated on 07/03/2024. Please see information note for details https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/in/silc/informationnotecensusrevisions-silc2020to2022/.

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2023 Table 3.1b (XLS 13KB)

Table 3.1c Median equivalised real disposable income by demographic characteristics and year

Table 3.1c Median equivalised real disposable income¹ by demographic characteristics and year¹
All persons
		Median equivalised real disposable income² (€)			% change
		2021	2022	2023	2021-2022	2022-2023
State		25,793	26,324	25,101	2.1	-4.6
Sex
	Male	26,119	26,677	25,596	2.1	-4.1
	Female	25,573	25,825	24,642	1.0	-4.6
Age group
	0-17	24,048	23,750	22,943	-1.2	-3.4
	18-34	27,660	28,870	26,496	4.4	-8.2
	35-49	27,251	26,834	26,378	-1.5	-1.7
	50-64	27,399	28,064	26,903	2.4	-4.1
	65+	23,332	22,593	23,636	-3.2	4.6
Principal Economic Status
	Employed	30,481	30,380	29,085	-0.3	-4.3
	Unemployed	19,662	17,354	17,193	-11.7	-0.9
	Retired	23,770	23,356	23,740	-1.7	1.6
	Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	17,432	19,030	18,385	9.2	-3.4
	Student, pupil	22,952	24,912	23,255	8.5	-6.7
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	20,397	20,059	20,430	-1.7	1.8
Highest education level attained
	Primary or below	18,562	18,392	20,011	-0.9	8.8
	Lower secondary	21,297	22,290	21,096	4.7	-5.4
	Higher secondary	25,013	26,031	24,349	4.1	-6.5
	Post leaving cert	24,454	24,705	24,317	1.0	-1.6
	Third level non degree	28,102	26,431	27,081	-5.9	2.5
	Third level degree or above	33,472	33,783	33,182	0.9	-1.8
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	17,749	16,496	17,967	-7.1	8.9
	1 adult aged <65	24,217	23,523	24,927	-2.9	6.0
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	23,530	22,912	24,221	-2.6	5.7
	2 adults, both aged <65	32,213	34,879	33,464	8.3	-4.1
	3 or more adults	29,305	29,896	28,296	2.0	-5.4
	1 adult with children aged under 18	20,090	18,515	19,678	-7.8	6.3
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	26,562	26,605	25,564	0.2	-3.9
	Other households with children aged under 18	22,433	23,661	21,312	5.5	-9.9
Household type
	One person household	20,505	20,011	21,288	-2.4	6.4
	Lone parent with at least one child aged less than 25	19,867	19,096	20,670	-3.9	8.2
	Lone parent with all children aged 25 or more	23,129	27,548	24,654	19.1	-10.5
	Couple without any child(ren)	30,204	31,088	30,808	2.9	-0.9
	Couple with at least one child aged less than 25	26,700	26,628	25,131	-0.3	-5.6
	Couple with all children aged 25 or more	31,530	30,021	31,012	-4.8	3.3
	Other type of household	23,356	25,520	23,997	9.3	-6.0
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	17,559	17,418	18,154	-0.8	4.2
	1	23,799	23,386	21,605	-1.7	-7.6
	2	30,247	30,234	29,134	0.0	-3.6
	3+	31,838	31,622	28,944	-0.7	-8.5
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	28,415	28,707	27,756	1.0	-3.3
	Rented or rent free	21,110	20,045	19,944	-5.0	-0.5
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	26,658	26,834	25,394	0.7	-5.4
	Rural areas	24,390	24,764	24,400	1.5	-1.5
Region
	Northern and Western	23,393	22,753	22,059	-2.7	-3.1
	Southern	24,538	25,160	24,025	2.5	-4.5
	Eastern and Midland	28,235	28,707	27,152	1.7	-5.4
¹ Data for 2021 and 2022 was updated on 07/03/2024. Please see information note for details https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/in/silc/informationnotecensusrevisions-silc2020to2022/.
²Deflator base year 2019, corresponding with the T-1 income reference period of SILC 2020.

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2023 Table 3.1c (XLS 41KB)

Table 3.1d Mean equivalised real disposable income by demographic characteristics and year

Table 3.1d Mean equivalised real disposable incomeby demographic characteristics and year¹
All persons
		Mean equivalised real disposable income² (€)			% change
		2021	2022	2023	2021-2022	2022-2023
State		29,216	29,829	29,049	2.1	-2.6
Sex
	Male	29,641	30,237	29,441	2.0	-2.6
	Female	28,798	29,431	28,667	2.2	-2.6
Age group
	0-17	26,511	27,261	26,330	2.8	-3.4
	18-34	30,599	31,658	29,229	3.5	-7.7
	35-49	29,722	29,989	29,677	0.9	-1.0
	50-64	32,108	33,067	32,201	3.0	-2.6
	65+	27,197	27,068	28,271	-0.5	4.4
Principal Economic Status
	Employed	33,719	33,846	32,684	0.4	-3.4
	Unemployed	22,693	19,420	20,393	-14.4	5.0
	Retired	27,413	27,942	27,973	1.9	0.1
	Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	19,881	21,900	20,709	10.2	-5.4
	Student, pupil	26,238	28,615	27,677	9.1	-3.3
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	25,485	23,755	23,853	-6.8	0.4
Highest education level attained
	Primary or below	20,795	20,693	21,693	-0.5	4.8
	Lower secondary	23,723	24,872	24,326	4.8	-2.2
	Higher secondary	27,960	28,256	27,005	1.1	-4.4
	Post leaving cert	26,151	26,834	26,193	2.6	-2.4
	Third level non degree	30,605	30,547	29,980	-0.2	-1.9
	Third level degree or above	37,487	38,357	37,562	2.3	-2.1
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	23,656	23,210	24,092	-1.9	3.8
	1 adult aged <65	28,623	30,049	27,813	5.0	-7.4
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	27,759	28,116	29,503	1.3	4.9
	2 adults, both aged <65	34,942	37,068	38,126	6.1	2.9
	3 or more adults	33,147	33,607	31,869	1.4	-5.2
	1 adult with children aged under 18	20,893	20,257	22,230	-3.0	9.7
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	29,600	29,413	28,613	-0.6	-2.7
	Other households with children aged under 18	24,677	26,182	23,814	6.1	-9.0
Household type
	One person household	26,344	27,060	26,148	2.7	-3.4
	Lone parent with at least one child aged less than 25	21,901	21,305	22,687	-2.7	6.5
	Lone parent with all children aged 25 or more	25,199	27,755	26,671	10.1	-3.9
	Couple without any child(ren)	33,703	34,909	36,420	3.6	4.3
	Couple with at least one child aged less than 25	29,691	30,232	28,268	1.8	-6.5
	Couple with all children aged 25 or more	35,065	33,754	33,187	-3.7	-1.7
	Other type of household	27,303	27,992	27,587	2.5	-1.4
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	20,973	21,755	21,888	3.7	0.6
	1	27,834	27,729	26,781	-0.4	-3.4
	2	32,895	33,353	32,417	1.4	-2.8
	3+	35,388	33,522	32,187	-5.3	-4.0
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	31,686	32,450	32,074	2.4	-1.2
	Rented or rent free	23,495	23,578	22,222	0.4	-5.8
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	30,203	30,977	29,813	2.6	-3.8
	Rural areas	27,347	27,459	27,464	0.4	0.0
Region
	Northern and Western	26,747	25,873	24,644	-3.3	-4.8
	Southern	26,800	28,169	28,048	5.1	-0.4
	Eastern and Midland	31,678	32,294	31,213	1.9	-3.3
¹ Data for 2021 and 2022 was updated on 07/03/2024. Please see information note for details https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/in/silc/informationnotecensusrevisions-silc2020to2022/.
²Deflator base year 2019, corresponding with the T-1 income reference period of SILC 2020.

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2023 Table 3.1d (XLS 41KB)

Table 3.2 Demographic characteristics of individuals by net disposable equivalised income deciles, 2023

Table 3.2 Demographic characteristics of individuals by net disposable equivalised income deciles, 2023
%
Decile		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	State
Weekly threshold (€)		< 313.53	< 362.25	< 420.25	<472.66	< 528.88	< 596.05	< 680.40	<775.53	<949.03	≥949.03
Distribution across deciles
Sex
	Male	10.3	8.8	9.6	10.0	9.3	10.5	10.2	10.3	10.4	10.4	100
	Female	9.7	11.1	10.4	10.0	10.7	9.5	9.8	9.7	9.6	9.6	100
Age group
	0-17	13.6	11.0	10.7	12.1	11.2	10.1	8.6	8.9	7.4	6.5	100
	18-34	8.2	7.7	11.6	8.0	9.8	12.5	10.2	11.0	9.8	11.2	100
	35-49	9.1	8.9	7.7	10.5	10.3	8.2	11.9	11.0	12.1	10.4	100
	50-64	10.6	6.6	9.9	8.9	7.9	10.8	10.2	10.1	12.2	13.0	100
	65+	7.5	17.3	10.4	10.3	10.6	8.2	8.8	8.7	8.6	9.6	100
Principal Economic Status (aged 16 years and over)
	Employed	5.6	5.2	7.7	7.9	9.9	11.3	12.3	12.6	13.7	13.8	100
	Unemployed	25.5	27.0	13.8	11.9	4.6	3.3	0.7	5.2	5.0	3.0	100
	Retired	7.9	16.6	10.5	9.9	9.9	8.8	9.6	8.5	8.2	10.1	100
	Unable to work dut to long-standing health problems	26.0	16.3	21.0	10.9	5.7	4.5	7.5	3.4	1.9	2.9	100
	Student, pupil	11.1	12.3	12.4	12.7	8.3	13.3	8.6	8.3	5.9	7.0	100
	Fulfilling domestic tasks	15.7	16.9	14.7	15.1	13.3	6.7	2.4	5.5	6.2	3.4	100
Highest education level attained (aged 16 years and over)
	Primary or below	14.8	22.7	12.0	15.1	14.0	6.6	6.0	3.7	3.5	1.6	100
	Lower secondary	14.7	15.8	13.7	12.0	9.7	9.9	7.5	7.1	5.4	4.3	100
	Higher secondary	7.7	12.1	13.0	11.0	8.4	10.4	12.8	10.0	9.0	5.7	100
	Post leaving cert	12.1	7.3	14.6	7.7	11.7	11.0	12.3	9.4	8.0	5.8	100
	Third level non degree	8.5	7.9	7.7	9.4	8.6	12.0	11.0	14.4	10.9	9.6	100
	Third level degree or above	4.6	3.3	4.4	6.7	8.8	10.4	9.8	13.1	16.8	22.0	100
Household composition
	1 adult aged 65+	14.4	31.9	10.2	7.0	7.5	5.5	7.2	5.1	4.8	6.4	100
	1 adult aged <65	27.0	5.4	6.5	5.5	6.3	6.9	10.1	10.7	8.3	13.3	100
	2 adults, at least 1 aged 65+	7.1	15.2	8.7	12.6	9.6	8.6	9.6	8.5	9.6	10.5	100
	2 adults, both aged <65	4.5	3.7	8.3	4.5	7.4	8.0	10.2	12.4	19.3	21.7	100
	3 or more adults	3.1	5.0	11.6	7.5	9.8	12.9	12.1	11.6	13.9	12.4	100
	1 adult with children aged under 18	19.2	14.4	18.4	11.0	12.7	12.5	5.1	1.3	1.4	4.0	100
	2 adults with 1-3 children aged under 18	13.6	7.3	7.4	8.8	11.2	9.1	10.6	11.9	10.9	9.3	100
	Other households with children aged under 18	9.8	16.6	13.0	18.1	11.0	11.0	8.4	7.3	2.2	2.6	100
Household type
	One person household	21.3	17.2	8.2	6.2	6.9	6.3	8.8	8.2	6.7	10.2	100
	Lone parent with at least one child aged less than 25	15.0	13.9	18.2	14.1	14.4	9.0	6.2	3.3	3.4	2.5	100
	Lone parent with all children aged 25 or more	8.6	8.3	13.3	8.9	11.6	6.7	17.0	14.3	9.2	2.2	100
	Couple without any child(ren)	3.7	9.0	6.6	7.6	7.7	8.1	10.5	11.4	15.4	19.9	100
	Couple with at least one child aged less than 25	10.3	9.7	8.7	11.1	10.0	11.7	10.2	10.7	9.6	7.8	100
	Couple with all children aged 25 or more	0.9	4.3	7.7	7.9	10.8	13.2	8.4	11.7	18.1	16.9	100
	Other type of household	10.6	8.2	14.0	10.2	10.9	8.9	10.8	9.7	7.6	9.0	100
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	21.3	23.7	15.1	9.9	5.6	6.4	5.0	4.4	4.5	4.1	100
	1	15.0	11.3	13.5	12.9	12.5	7.5	6.7	6.5	5.9	8.2	100
	2	4.9	4.9	5.6	9.6	10.9	11.1	12.7	13.7	13.5	13.1	100
	3+	0.7	5.7	11.2	4.8	7.7	17.2	14.8	12.7	14.3	10.9	100
Tenure status
	Owner-occupied	6.1	7.1	8.0	10.0	9.0	11.5	11.0	11.7	12.4	13.2	100
	Rented or rent free	18.9	16.5	14.7	10.0	12.3	6.6	7.6	6.1	4.5	2.8	100
Urban/rural location
	Urban areas	10.2	8.9	9.6	9.1	11.2	9.7	10.1	10.1	10.2	11.0	100
	Rural areas	9.6	12.2	10.9	11.9	7.5	10.7	9.7	9.8	9.5	8.0	100
Region
	Northern and Western	13.7	17.9	10.5	8.4	9.5	12.7	9.6	6.8	6.8	4.1	100
	Southern	9.4	9.0	12.8	11.0	10.7	10.6	12.1	8.2	8.5	7.7	100
	Eastern and Midland	9.1	7.9	8.1	9.9	9.7	8.7	8.8	12.3	12.1	13.5	100

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2023 Table 3.2 (XLS 42KB)

Table 3.3a Nominal median income measures by year

Table 3.3b Nominal mean income measures by year

Table 3.4a Composition of nominal equivalised income by year

Table 3.4b Composition of real equivalised income by year

Table 3.5 Average weekly nominal equivalised income by net disposable equivalised income deciles and composition of net equivalised disposable income, 2023

Table 3.5 Average weekly nominal equivalised income by net disposable equivalised income deciles and composition of net equivalised disposable income, 2023												€
Decile		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	State
Weekly threshold		< 313.53	362.25	<420.25	< 472.66	< 528.88	< 596.05	<680.40	< 775.53	<949.03	≥ 949.03
Average Weekly Nominal Equivalised Income
Market Income
	Employee income	93.61	141.36	226.71	332.14	417.23	515.46	644.41	732.36	957.80	1,445.03	550.71
	Employer's social insurance contributions	9.76	15.34	25.94	38.88	51.75	61.56	80.31	96.69	134.20	191.40	70.60
	Self-employment income	16.39	24.57	21.35	34.00	30.60	34.10	39.26	86.14	108.42	390.09	78.51
	Private or occupational pension	2.19	4.02	10.80	15.33	29.31	32.62	47.06	58.37	79.47	124.54	40.38
	Other market income	7.51	3.97	5.20	5.34	9.26	11.85	12.80	20.84	27.87	233.53	33.83
	Total Market Income	129.46	189.27	290.00	425.70	538.15	655.59	823.83	994.41	1,307.75	2,384.60	774.03
Social Transfers
	Unemployment related benefits	34.81	31.59	20.13	12.42	9.17	5.22	2.76	4.57	2.65	3.87	12.71
	Old-age related payments	20.64	68.18	42.02	40.21	37.05	27.76	29.05	26.91	23.32	27.85	34.29
	Family/children related allowances	40.46	41.11	49.38	44.20	33.86	36.79	23.05	24.34	12.87	10.23	31.63
	Housing allowances	14.60	23.48	21.29	16.12	16.31	12.19	9.02	8.80	4.86	5.13	13.18
	Other social transfers	35.13	24.93	35.31	27.77	16.52	17.99	19.61	15.09	9.39	5.28	20.70
	Total Social Transfers	145.65	189.28	168.13	140.73	112.91	99.94	83.49	79.71	53.09	52.37	112.52
Gross Income		275.11	378.55	458.13	566.43	651.06	755.53	907.33	1,074.11	1,360.85	2,436.96	886.55
Tax and Social Contributions
	Tax on income and social contributions	11.78	19.74	34.05	66.55	84.14	110.02	155.44	213.33	310.89	730.95	173.73
	Employer's social insurance contributions	9.76	15.34	25.94	38.88	51.75	61.56	80.31	96.69	134.20	191.40	70.60
	Pension Contributions	1.38	2.92	5.76	13.29	14.59	21.56	30.61	36.75	61.93	96.49	28.54
	Regular inter-household cash transfers paid	2.20	0.45	1.13	0.64	.55	1.60	1.55	2.06	3.53	2.49	1.62
	Total Tax and Social Contributions	25.13	38.46	66.87	119.35	151.03	194.75	267.91	348.83	510.54	1021.34	274.48
Net Disposable Income		249.97	340.10	391.26	447.07	500.03	560.79	639.42	725.28	850.31	1,415.62	612.06

Open in Excel: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2023 Table 3.5 (XLS 36KB)

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Table 3.3a Nominal median income measures¹ by year²				€
		2021	2022	2023
National income definition
	Total gross household income	61,413	68,360	68,400
	Total disposable household income	49,906	52,144	55,149
National income definition, national equivalence scale
	Equivalised total disposable income	25,707	26,851	27,597
	Equivalised total disposable income excluding all social transfers	20,432	22,213	23,156
	Equivalised total disposable income excluding all social transfers and public sector pensions	19,532	21,207	22,069
¹Gross and disposable household income is averaged over households, while equivalised income is averaged over individuals within the household.
² Data for 2021 and 2022 was updated on 07/03/2024. Please see information note for details https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/in/silc/informationnotecensusrevisions-silc2020to2022/.

Table 3.3b Nominal mean income measures¹ by year²				€
		2021	2022	2023
National income definition
	Total gross household income	79,815	86,681	90,570
	Total disposable household income	57,309	60,451	62,898
National income definition, national equivalence scale
	Equivalised total disposable income	29,118	30,427	31,937
	Equivalised total disposable income excluding all social transfers	22,810	24,424	26,066
	Equivalised total disposable income excluding all social transfers and public sector pensions	21,837	23,342	24,918
¹Gross and disposable household income is averaged over households, while equivalised income is averaged over individuals within the household.
² Data for 2021 and 2022 was updated on 07/03/2024. Please see information note for details https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/in/silc/informationnotecensusrevisions-silc2020to2022/.

Table 3.4b Composition of real equivalised income by year¹				€
		Real equivalised income²
		2021	2022	2023
Average Weekly Income
Market Income
	Employee income³	482.01	521.57	500.91
	Employer's social insurance contributions	59.37	67.09	64.22
	Self-employment income	54.52	60.35	71.41
	Private or occupational pension	36.37	36.61	36.73
	Other market income	30.24	25.23	30.77
	Total market income	662.52	710.84	704.03
Social Transfers
	Unemployment related benefits⁴	33.08	24.00	11.56
	Old-age related payments	31.98	32.22	31.19
	Family/children related allowances	29.43	29.41	28.77
	Housing allowances	7.13	7.14	11.99
	Other social transfers	19.68	20.01	18.83
	Total social transfers	121.29	112.78	102.34
Gross Income		783.80	823.63	806.38
Tax and Social Contributions
	Tax on income and social contributions	138.32	156.34	158.02
	Employer's social insurance contributions	59.37	67.09	64.22
	Pension contributions	24.74	27.02	25.96
	Regular inter-household cash transfers paid	1.47	1.52	1.47
	Total Tax and Social Contributions	223.90	251.96	249.66
Net Disposable Income		559.90	571.67	556.71
¹ Data for 2021 and 2022 was updated on 07/03/2024. Please see information note for details https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/in/silc/informationnotecensusrevisions-silc2020to2022/.
2 Deflator base year 2019, corresponding with the T-1 income reference period of SILC 2020.
³ Employee income includes income from Wage Subsidy Schemes (WSS).
⁴ Unemployment related benefits includes income from Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP).

Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2023

Equivalised Income

Equivalised Income

Increase in equivalised income in SILC 2023. However, after adjusting for inflation real equivalised income falls

Real and Nominal Equivalised Income

Persons that were unemployed had the lowest equivalised disposable income in SILC 2023

Distribution of Equivalised Income

Over half of unemployed persons are in the lowest income quintile

Impact of Social Transfers on Equivalised Income

Composition of Equivalised Income

Persons in lower income deciles are most reliant on income from social transfers

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Table 3.4a Composition of nominal equivalised income by year¹				€
		Nominal equivalised income
		2021	2022	2023
Average Weekly Income
Market Income
	Employee income³	480.40	532.02	550.71
	Employer's social insurance contributions	59.17	68.43	70.60
	Self-employment income	54.34	61.56	78.51
	Private or occupational pension	36.25	37.34	40.38
	Other market income	30.14	25.74	33.83
	Total market income	660.30	725.08	774.03
Social Transfers
	Unemployment related benefits⁴	32.97	24.48	12.71
	Old-age related payments	31.87	32.87	34.29
	Family/children related allowances	29.33	30.00	31.63
	Housing allowances	7.11	7.28	13.18
	Other social transfers	19.61	20.41	20.70
	Total social transfers	120.88	115.04	112.52
Gross Income		781.18	840.13	886.55
Tax and Social Contributions
	Tax on income and social contributions	137.86	159.47	173.73
	Employer's social insurance contributions	59.17	68.43	70.60
	Pension contributions	24.66	27.56	28.54
	Regular inter-household cash transfers paid	1.47	1.55	1.62
	Total Tax and Social Contributions	223.15	257.01	274.48
Net Disposable Income		558.03	583.12	612.06
¹ Data for 2021 and 2022 was updated on 07/03/2024. Please see information note for details https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/in/silc/informationnotecensusrevisions-silc2020to2022/.
³ Employee income includes income from Wage Subsidy Schemes (WSS).
⁴ Unemployment related benefits includes income from Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP).