# Average rent in Ireland by county | Cost of living | Moving to Ireland

> Where you live in Ireland matters more to your budget than almost any other decision. A new tenancy in Dublin costs more than double one in Leitrim, and…

Source: https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/cost-of-living/average-rent-in-ireland-by-county/

Cost of living · Step 6 of 8

# Average rent in Ireland by county

3 min read · Updated 13 September 2026

Where you live in Ireland matters more to your budget than almost any other decision. A new tenancy in Dublin costs more than double one in Leitrim, and the commuter counties around the capital are now dearer than Cork or Galway. This guide gives you the latest official rent figures for every county, explains the two main sources and what they measure, and shows how the figures differ between a new lease and an existing one.

## Two sources, two different numbers

The **RTB Rent Index** is the official series, compiled by the Residential Tenancies Board with the ESRI from actual registered tenancies. Its "standardised average rent" adjusts for the mix of property types, so it is the best like-for-like comparison between counties. It publishes separate figures for new tenancies (what you will pay as a newcomer) and existing tenancies (what sitting tenants pay, which is much lower because annual increases are capped). The latest edition is Q1 2026, published in September 2026.

The **Daft.ie Rental Report** uses asking rents on advertised listings, so it runs a quarter ahead of the RTB and tends to be higher, because only new lettings are advertised and landlords list at the top of the range. Its latest edition is Q2 2026. Both are worth checking; the RTB tells you the average, Daft tells you what you will actually see on your phone.

## Headline figures for 2026

The RTB's national standardised average rent for a new tenancy was **€1,839 a month in Q1 2026**, up 9.1% in a year, while existing tenancies averaged **€1,513** (up 4.2%). Dublin was €2,335 for new tenancies, the Greater Dublin Area counties (Meath, Kildare, Wicklow) €1,806 and the rest of the country €1,432. Ten counties recorded annual increases of at least 10%. Daft.ie's Q2 2026 report put a two-bed apartment at €2,204 nationally, with rents rising 1.4% in the quarter, a slowdown from a record 4.4% in Q1.

## Average rent by county

<table><tbody><tr><td><strong>County</strong></td><td><strong>RTB new tenancy, Q1 2026</strong></td><td><strong>Daft.ie two-bed apartment, Q1 2026</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Dublin</td><td>€2,335</td><td>€2,609</td></tr><tr><td>Wicklow</td><td>€1,888</td><td>€1,704</td></tr><tr><td>Kildare</td><td>€1,852</td><td>€2,125</td></tr><tr><td>Limerick</td><td>€1,744</td><td>€1,900 city / €1,228 county</td></tr><tr><td>Galway</td><td>€1,718</td><td>€2,309 city / €1,533 county</td></tr><tr><td>Meath</td><td>€1,706</td><td>€1,524</td></tr><tr><td>Cork</td><td>€1,678</td><td>€2,103 city / €1,660 county</td></tr><tr><td>Louth</td><td>€1,526</td><td>€1,873</td></tr><tr><td>Laois</td><td>€1,408</td><td>€1,672</td></tr><tr><td>Westmeath</td><td>€1,379</td><td>€1,464</td></tr><tr><td>Waterford</td><td>€1,371</td><td>€1,490 city / €1,491 county</td></tr><tr><td>Carlow</td><td>€1,357</td><td>€1,608</td></tr><tr><td>Clare</td><td>€1,333</td><td>€1,747</td></tr><tr><td>Kerry</td><td>€1,311</td><td>€1,493</td></tr><tr><td>Kilkenny</td><td>€1,298</td><td>€1,391</td></tr><tr><td>Sligo</td><td>€1,290</td><td>€1,389</td></tr><tr><td>Wexford</td><td>€1,231</td><td>€1,435</td></tr><tr><td>Longford</td><td>€1,215</td><td>€1,325</td></tr><tr><td>Offaly</td><td>€1,212</td><td>€1,680</td></tr><tr><td>Cavan</td><td>€1,204</td><td>€1,245</td></tr><tr><td>Tipperary</td><td>€1,204</td><td>€1,520</td></tr><tr><td>Mayo</td><td>€1,153</td><td>€1,382</td></tr><tr><td>Roscommon</td><td>€1,132</td><td>€1,519</td></tr><tr><td>Donegal</td><td>€1,107</td><td>€1,102</td></tr><tr><td>Monaghan</td><td>€1,081</td><td>€1,076</td></tr><tr><td>Leitrim</td><td>€1,040</td><td>€1,093</td></tr><tr><td><strong>National</strong></td><td><strong>€1,839</strong></td><td><strong>€2,176</strong></td></tr></tbody></table>

Sources: RTB Rent Index Q1 2026 (standardised average rent in new tenancies, rounded to the nearest euro) and Daft.ie Rental Report Q1 2026 (average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment). For Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford the Daft figures are split between the city and the rest of the county.

## The five cities

Cities are dearer than the counties around them. The RTB Q1 2026 figures for new tenancies are **Dublin City €2,301**, **Galway City €2,004**, **Limerick City €1,921** and **Cork City €1,903**. Within Dublin, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown was highest at €2,629 and South Dublin lowest at €2,267. Daft.ie's Q2 2026 asking rents for a two-bed apartment were €2,634 in Dublin, €2,336 in Galway, €2,244 in Limerick and €2,168 in Cork, with annual growth of 6.5% in Dublin but 11% to 13% in the other three. Rent growth is now fastest outside the capital.

## How to read the table when you are budgeting

Take the RTB new-tenancy figure as your realistic floor for a decent one- or two-bed, and the Daft figure as what a two-bed will be advertised at. If you are moving with a family and need a three-bed house, add roughly 15% to 25% to the Daft two-bed figure; in Q1 2026 a three-bed house averaged €3,162 in Dublin, €2,468 across the other four cities and €2,080 in the rest of Leinster. If you are single and happy to share, a double room averaged €806 nationwide and €1,002 in Dublin city centre.

Two further points. First, rent controls have applied to the whole country since June 2025, and since 1 March 2026 annual increases are capped nationwide at 2% or inflation, whichever is lower, so the premium you pay is at the start. Second, the counties nearest Dublin (Kildare, Wicklow, Meath, Louth) are only 15% to 25% cheaper than the capital, while the train or bus commute can be an hour or more. Counties such as Westmeath, Carlow and Laois, one stop further out, are where the savings become substantial.

## ★ Useful links

-   [RTB Rent Index (quarterly, all counties)](https://www.rtb.ie/data-insights/rtb-research-reports/rtb-esri-rent-index/)
-   [Daft.ie Irish Rental Report](https://www.daft.ie/report)
-   [Citizens Information: rent increase rules](https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting-a-home/landlords-rights-and-responsibilities/rent-increases-in-private-rented-housing/)
-   [Citizens Information: renting a home](https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting-a-home/)
-   [CSO price statistics](https://www.cso.ie/en/statistics/prices/)

![](https://www.movingtoireland.co/apple-touch-icon.png)

You have read 23% of this guide

## Keep reading in the Moving to Ireland app

The rest of **Average rent in Ireland by county** — about 2 minutes more — is in the app, free to download, alongside 98 other guides and a checklist built around your own move.

Still to come in this guide

-   Headline figures for 2026
-   Average rent by county
-   The five cities
-   How to read the table when you are budgeting

[Download free on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/moving-to-ireland/id6446055261)

iPhone and iPad · no account needed

## More on cost of living

[All 8 guides in this section](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/cost-of-living/)

-   ### [Cost of living in Ireland in 2026](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/cost-of-living/cost-of-living-in-ireland/)
    
    Ireland is one of the more expensive countries in Europe to live in, and rent is the reason. Almost everything else, from groceries to public transport…
    
    4 min read
    
-   ### [Cost of living in Dublin](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/cost-of-living/cost-of-living-in-dublin/)
    
    Dublin is where most people moving to Ireland land first, and it is comfortably the most expensive place in the country to live. The premium is almost…
    
    4 min read
    
-   ### [Cost of living in Cork](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/cost-of-living/cost-of-living-in-cork/)
    
    Cork is Ireland's second city and the obvious alternative to Dublin if you work in pharma, medtech or tech. Apple, Pfizer, Stryker and dozens of others…
    
    3 min read
    
-   ### [Cost of living in Galway](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/cost-of-living/cost-of-living-in-galway/)
    
    Galway is the smallest of Ireland's main cities and, for many people, the most likeable: a compact medieval centre, the sea at Salthill, a big student…
    
    4 min read
    

Keep going

## Get the full cost-of-living roadmap in the app

Moving to Ireland turns 99 guides into a personal checklist. Tell it your passport, whether you have moved yet, and who is coming with you, and it lays out every step in order — from the visa to the bins.

-   Step-by-step checklist
-   Tailored to your passport
-   Pre-move & post-move
-   Family & pet sections

[![Download Moving to Ireland on the App Store](https://www.movingtoireland.co/images/app-store-badge.svg)](https://apps.apple.com/app/moving-to-ireland/id6446055261)

★★★★★ 4.9 on the App Store

[![Expats who settled in Ireland, two five-star App Store reviews, and the Moving to Ireland app showing its relocation checklist](https://www.movingtoireland.co/images/app-social-proof.webp)](https://apps.apple.com/app/moving-to-ireland/id6446055261)