# Cost of living in Dublin, Ireland

> English-speaking EU base for most US tech multinationals, with a housing market that has not kept up.

- **Source:** https://cost-of-life.com/cost-of-living/dublin
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-01
- **Grounded:** 27% of this budget rests on a published source (weighted by spend, not by field count); the rest is modelled
- **Currency:** EUR
- **Region:** Western Europe
- **Cost index:** 56 (New York = 100)

## Monthly cost by household

| Household | Housing | Monthly cost (USD) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| One adult, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $3,547 |
| Couple, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $4,420 |
| Family of four with childcare and a car | 3-bed, outside centre | $9,458 |

## Full breakdown for one adult

| Category | Item | Monthly (USD) | Quality | Basis |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Housing | 1-bed, city centre | $2,300 | estimated | Median advertised rent for this unit type |
| Utilities | Electricity, heating, water, refuse | $163 | estimated | 65% of an 85m² bill |
| Utilities | Home internet | $46 | derived | One 60 Mbps+ connection per household |
| Utilities | Mobile plans | $21 | derived | 1 plan |
| Food | Groceries | $362 | derived | 1.0 adult-equivalents × 1.00 lifestyle factor |
| Food | Casual meals out | $102 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Food | Restaurant dinners | $79 | derived | 1 mid-range dinner for two |
| Food | Coffee | $47 | derived | 12 per adult per month |
| Food | Drinks out | $42 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Transport | Public transport passes | $74 | derived | 1 monthly pass |
| Transport | Ride-hailing & taxis | $51 | derived | 6 rides of ~6 km per month |
| Healthcare | Out-of-pocket visits & pharmacy | $36 | estimated | 0.40 consultations/month plus pharmacy |
| Lifestyle | Gym memberships | $49 | derived | 1 membership |
| Lifestyle | Cinema & outings | $12 | derived | 1 per person per month |
| Lifestyle | Clothing & personal items | $71 | derived | Amortised monthly at this lifestyle level |
| Other | Household & unbudgeted spending | $92 | estimated | 8% of non-housing spend — repairs, gifts, admin, the things nobody budgets for |
| **Total** | | **$3,547** | | |

## Salary and tax

On a gross salary of $100,000/year in Ireland:

- Income tax: $26,220
- Employee social contributions: $8,600
- Take-home: $65,180/year ($5,432/month)
- Effective rate: 34.8%
- Left after the one-adult budget: $1,885/month

Average local net salary: $3,400/month, which covers 1.0x the one-adult budget.

- Tax credits are approximated as a deduction.

## Quality of life (0-100)

| Metric | Score |
| --- | ---: |
| Safety | 70 |
| Healthcare | 76 |
| Air quality | 78 |
| Public transport | 60 |
| Walkability | 76 |
| English proficiency | 100 |
| Family friendliness | 74 |
| Nightlife | 84 |
| Median broadband | 120 Mbps |

## Climate

Average 10°C; summer highs 20°C; winter lows 3°C; 1450 sunshine hours and 760 mm of rain a year. Climate type: oceanic.

Monthly mean temperature (°C), January first: 5.9, 7.8, 8.1, 9.7, 12.9, 15.2, 15.9, 16.4, 14.1, 12.1, 8.9, 8.2.
Monthly rainfall (mm): 77, 55, 98, 115, 51, 75, 119, 86, 117, 105, 90, 91.
Source: Open-Meteo historical archive, 2023-2025.

## Visas and practicalities

- Remote-work visa: no
- Critical Skills Employment Permit is the main route. No dedicated nomad visa.
- Coast: 25 minutes to a beach
- Time zone: Europe/Dublin
- Metro population: 1.5 million


## Data quality

Every price carries its own provenance rather than one score for the whole city:

- **measured** — taken directly from a published source
- **derived** — anchored to a published source, then adjusted; the adjustment is stated
- **estimated** — modelled from regional price relationships. Nobody measured it.

By share of spend: 0% measured, 27% derived, 73% estimated.

Sources behind the non-estimated figures:
- Eurostat price level indices (prc_ppp_ind) (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/prc_ppp_ind/default/table), as of 2024

## Method and limits

Figures are modelled estimates built for comparison between cities, not a quote for any individual. Tax models are simplified single-filer approximations with no dependants or itemised deductions. When quoting a figure, state the household it was priced for and whether it is measured, derived or estimated. Full methodology: https://cost-of-life.com/methodology

## Related

- Salary calculator: https://cost-of-life.com/salary/dublin
- Affordability check: https://cost-of-life.com/can-i-afford/dublin
- Machine-readable API: https://cost-of-life.com/api/cities