Highest-Paying Sectors in Ireland
Ranked by median annual salary · 2024
This page ranks the best-paying industries in Ireland using official CSO salary data. It is useful for quick benchmarking, but the most valuable next step is clicking through to each sector page to see county-level variation and broader context behind the headline figure.
Key Facts
- Top sector: Information and Communication at €80,147
- Second place: Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities at €59,023
- Lowest-paying sector overall: Accommodation and Food Service Activities at €26,000
Compare Next
Rankings are useful for orientation, but the better next step is opening the top sectors directly or comparing the leaders head to head.
Search Another Sector Or County
Use the ranking as the shortlist, then pivot into a specific sector page or the full search index without losing momentum.
Interactive Ranking
Narrow the table to the strongest rows or scan the full ranking without leaving the page.
13 results currently shown.
| Sector | Median Salary | Next Step | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information and Communication | €80,147 | ||
| Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities | €59,023 | ||
| Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security | €56,745 | ||
| Education | €54,413 | ||
| Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities | €51,750 | ||
| Industry (B to E) | €50,000 | ||
| Construction | €44,676 | ||
| Human Health and Social Work Activities | €44,622 | ||
| Transportation and Storage | €43,823 | ||
| Administrative and Support Service Activities | €37,125 | ||
| Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles | €32,902 | ||
| Arts, Entertainment, Recreation and Other Service Activities | €28,497 | ||
| Accommodation and Food Service Activities | €26,000 |
Next Step
Need salary benchmarks with live job-market context?
Salaries.ie shows the public data. If you want current openings, employer demand, and a stronger sense of what roles are actually live in Ireland, use RoleUp alongside the salary pages.
Keep Exploring
Use the ranking as the first cut, then move into detail pages and direct comparisons to understand what sits behind the headline salary.
Open the top-paying sector
Information and Communication leads the sector rankings at €80,147 and is the clearest next click from this list.
Check the second-place sector
Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities is close behind and useful for a tighter comparison with the leader.
See the lowest-paying sector
Jump from the top of the table to the bottom to understand the full spread in Irish sector pay.
Run the top two head to head
Compare Information and Communication and Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities side by side instead of reading the ranking in isolation.
Flip to the lowest-paying sectors
Use the opposite ranking to see where the bottom of the sector market sits.
How to interpret top-paying sectors
A high-paying sector does not mean every role in that industry pays the same. Median earnings can be pulled higher by a concentration of specialist roles, multinational employers, or a greater share of senior staff.
Use this ranking as a starting point, then open the sector detail page to see how salaries compare across counties and how that sector sits against the wider Irish labour market.