Living in Waterford

In Waterford, tenants pay an average rent of €1,316 a month (2025) and unemployment is 11.7% (2022).

Annual PM2.5 was 8 µg/m³ at the end of 2024. In April 2022, the unemployment rate was 11.7%.

Last checked 2026-09-1913 sources

Population60,079people3 Apr 2022Official source · Census 2022 BUA population

Average rent1,316EUR/month31 Dec 2025Official source · RTB/ESRI Average Monthly Rent Report (CSO table RIA02), all bedrooms, all property types

Unemployment rate11.7%country median 9.4% — 25% aboveOfficial source · CSO Census 2022 F7115 — unemployment rate by town

PM2.5, annual mean8µg/m³country median 7.0 — 14% aboveOfficial source · EEA Air Quality Annual Statistics — IE 2024 PM2.5 station data

Which Ireland-wide rules apply when you move to Waterford?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in IrelandNational rates and thresholds that apply in Waterford.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

No city-level rent figure is published for Waterford. The available city-level cost figures remain below.

What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€76

Mobile plan, 10 GB€40

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	75.99 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	eir 500 Mbps broadband⁶Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	39.99 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	eir Mobile Essential⁷Official · national market
Average monthly rent (whole dwelling)	1,316 EUR/month	31 Dec 2025	RTB/ESRI Average Monthly Rent Report (CSO table RIA02), all bedrooms, all property types¹³Official

Is Waterford a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile

Remote worker28%strong on work, weak on safety · range 19–37%

Skilled employee51%strong on work, weak on safety · range 42–60%

Student38%strong on cost, weak on safety · range 27–49%

Family46%strong on family, weak on safety · range 35–57%

Retirement38%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 27–49%

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Waterford?

The unemployment rate is 11.7 % (April 2022). Source: CSO Census 2022 F7115 — unemployment rate by town⁴

Unemployment across cities in IrelandUnemployment in Waterford is 11.7%. Of 90 cities with data, 21 have unemployment of 6 to under 8%.

4–66–88–1010–1212–1414–1616–18

Waterford 11.7%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Unemployment rate	11.7 %country median 9.4%	3 Apr 2022	CSO Census 2022 F7115 — unemployment rate by town⁴Official

What does a salary buy in Waterford?

Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.

Left over each month€1,556of €2,988 take-home

Rent
Internet
Mobile
Left over

Line-by-line breakdown and sources

Each month	€
Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions.	€2,988
Rentaverage rent of a whole dwelling · official · RTB/ESRI Average Monthly Rent Report (CSO table RIA02), all bedrooms, all property types · 2025-12-31	− €1,316
Internet€76 · official · eir 500 Mbps broadband · 2026-09-30	− €76
Mobile plan€40 · official · eir Mobile Essential · 2026-09-30	− €40
Other everyday billsnot published for this city: public transport pass, utilities	—
Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish	€1,556

Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Waterford Salary needed to live in Waterford

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Waterford. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

Intreo employment service — Public employment service

Department of Social Protection, Ireland

Job Search

Open official service

Open the Ireland service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Waterford. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Mobility and administration

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Public transport access	Bus Éireann / Iarnród Éireann / Local Link (NTA Waterford area)	27 Aug 2026	migrationfit.com⁹Official
Destinations from nearest airport	2 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights¹¹Official
Nearest airport	WAT	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹²Official
Distance to nearest airport	8 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹²Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Waterford. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.

Country-level information

Education and Training Board adult English language skills and ESOL — State Language Course

The 16 Education and Training Boards across Ireland

For adult migrants, refugees, adults who need to improve English.

EnglishFree

Open official information

Local Authority Integration Teams (LAITs) — Newcomer Adaptation

Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration

For new arrivals, people who applied for International Protection, refugees, people from Ukraine.

EnglishIn Person

Open official information

Open the full Ireland section

National programme information is not treated as proof of a course location in Waterford.

Find courses near Waterford

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Waterford?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 8 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: EEA Air Quality Annual Statistics — IE 2024 PM2.5 station data⁵

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³

PM2.58WHO 5 · EU 25

NO₂11WHO 10 · EU 40

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

PM2.5 across cities in IrelandAnnual PM2.5 in Waterford is 8.0 µg/m³. Of 68 cities with data, 23 have annual PM2.5 of 7 to under 8 µg/m³.

5–66–77–88–99–1010–1111–1212–13

Waterford 8.0

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
NO₂ — annual mean	11 µg/m³	31 Dec 2005	Eurostat⁸Official
PM2.5 — annual mean	8 µg/m³country median 7.0	31 Dec 2024	EEA Air Quality Annual Statistics — IE 2024 PM2.5 station data⁵Official
Monthly extreme high temperature	Jan 13.75 · Feb 13.84 · Mar 16.95 · Apr 19.21 · May 22.18 · Jun 24.5 · Jul 25.89 · Aug 26.76 · Sep 23.39 · Oct 19.38 · Nov 15.58 · Dec 13.48 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center¹⁰Official
Monthly extreme low temperature	Jan -5.99 · Feb -3.6 · Mar -4.58 · Apr -2.55 · May -0.22 · Jun 3.85 · Jul 6.3 · Aug 5.61 · Sep 2.65 · Oct -0.61 · Nov -2.93 · Dec -5.61 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center¹⁰Official
Average temperature by month	Jan 5.09 · Feb 4.98 · Mar 5.97 · Apr 8.2 · May 10.97 · Jun 13.76 · Jul 15.29 · Aug 14.94 · Sep 13.16 · Oct 10.49 · Nov 7.37 · Dec 5.64 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center¹⁰Official

Population and city profile

How many people live in Waterford?

The published population was 60,079 people in 2022. Source: Census 2022 BUA population¹

Foreign residents and their share come from different publications that count different groups (for example citizens of another country, or people born abroad, or of foreign origin), so 9,038 is not 20.6% of the population. Each row names its source.

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport85%
Foreign residents15%

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Foreign-resident share	20.61 %	31 Dec 2022	Central Statistics Office Ireland (CSO)²Official
Foreign residents	9,038 people	3 Apr 2022	CSO Census 2022 F5003 — population by citizenship and town of usual residence³Official
City area	41.6 km²	31 Dec 2022	migrationfit.com⁹Official
Population density	1,444 people/km²	31 Dec 2022	migrationfit.com⁹Official
Population	60,079 people	3 Apr 2022	Census 2022 BUA population¹Official

Population over time7 published observations, 1996–2022

38,390

46,155

53,921

61,686

60,0791996200420062022

Population rose 50.2% between 1996 and 2022, from 39,997 to 60,079.

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Administrative handoff status	https://www.irishimmigration.ie/ url	27 Aug 2026	migrationfit.com⁹Official

Alternatives for people set on Waterford

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Limerick as a Waterford alternative in the same country

Better on 3 of 5 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1.

Nearest airport: 21.0 km Limerick vs 8.0 km Waterford+163%
Residents: 102,287 Limerick vs 60,079 Waterford+70%
Annual PM2.5: 6.7 µg/m³ Limerick vs 8.0 µg/m³ Waterford−17%
Unemployment: 10.9% Limerick vs 11.7% Waterford−7%
Foreign residents: 22.0% Limerick vs 20.6% Waterford+7%

Full comparison More about Limerick

Alternative cities in Ireland

Other cities in Ireland to compare with Waterford, nearest in population first.

All Ireland cities

Drogheda44,135 residents Dundalk43,112 residents Galway85,910 residents Galway city and suburbs85,910 residents Swords40,776 residents Limerick102,287 residents

How does Waterford compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Waterford's.

Open the full comparison

Waterford in rankings

#7 of 27 in Largest cities in Ireland #12 of 27 in Most international cities in Ireland #20 of 25 in Cities with cleanest air in Ireland #21 of 25 in Cities with lowest unemployment in Ireland

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Waterford when the national insurance or residence conditions are met.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 6 to 16, and public school is free. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: English as additional language support (whole-school approach, National Strategy Literacy and Numeracy 2011). How to enrol a child (gov.ie).

A country-wide rule for Ireland; Waterford's school authority applies it locally.

Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2026.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Waterford?

The published population was 60,079 people in 2022. Source: Census 2022 BUA population.

Is the air quality good in Waterford?

What is the unemployment rate in Waterford?

The unemployment rate is 11.7 % (April 2022). Source: CSO Census 2022 F7115 — unemployment rate by town.

How many foreign residents live in Waterford?

9,038 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: CSO Census 2022 F5003 — population by citizenship and town of usual residence.

Is Waterford a good place to live?

Waterford may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation

ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 25). Waterford, Ireland: population, rent, cost of living, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 724333ef540d6dd8f65e2d0174d1c257]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/ie/waterford/ Retrieved 2026-10-25. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_waterford-ireland-population-rent-cost-of-living-jobs_a1b570adf6b6,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Waterford, Ireland: population, rent, cost of living, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-25},
  version = {724333ef540d6dd8f65e2d0174d1c257},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/ie/waterford/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-25. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Waterford, Ireland: population, rent, cost of living, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/ie/waterford/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 724333ef540d6dd8f65e2d0174d1c257; retrieved 2026-10-25; built 2026-10-25.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown

Census 2022 BUA population cso.ie · checked 2026-07-14
Central Statistics Office Ireland (CSO) cso.ie · checked 2026-08-03
CSO Census 2022 F5003 — population by citizenship and town of usual residence CSO Census 2022 F5003 · ws.cso.ie · checked 2026-07-27
CSO Census 2022 F7115 — unemployment rate by town CSO Census 2022 F7115 · ws.cso.ie · checked 2026-07-27
EEA Air Quality Annual Statistics — IE 2024 PM2.5 station data EEA Air Quality Annual Statistics · air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-29
eir 500 Mbps broadband eir.ie · checked 2026-09-15
eir Mobile Essential home.eir.ie · checked 2026-09-15
Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
migrationfit.com migrationfit.com · checked 2026-06-14
NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-03

Show 3 more sources

OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
RTB/ESRI Average Monthly Rent Report (CSO table RIA02), all bedrooms, all property types data.cso.ie · checked 2026-09-18

Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.