# Cost of living in Limerick | Cost of living | Moving to Ireland > Limerick is the city that relocation guides used to skip, and that is exactly why it deserves a look. It has a university (UL), a growing tech and… Source: https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/cost-of-living/cost-of-living-in-limerick/ Cost of living · Step 5 of 8 # Cost of living in Limerick 4 min read · Updated 13 September 2026 Limerick is the city that relocation guides used to skip, and that is exactly why it deserves a look. It has a university (UL), a growing tech and financial-services base (Analog Devices, Johnson and Johnson, Northern Trust, Dell), Shannon Airport twenty minutes away and the cheapest house prices of any Irish city. Rent, however, has been climbing steeply since 2024, so the old "Limerick is cheap" reputation needs updating. Here are the 2026 figures. ## Rent in Limerick in 2026 The RTB Rent Index for Q1 2026 puts the standardised average rent for a new tenancy in **Limerick City at €1,921** a month and across County Limerick at **€1,744**. Limerick City has now overtaken Cork City (€1,903) and sits just behind Galway (€2,004). The RTB notes that new-tenancy rents in Limerick City have risen by €410 a month since Q1 2024, and that the gap between what new and sitting tenants pay is the widest in the country at **52.3%**, or €660 a month. In other words, existing tenants have a great deal and newcomers do not. Daft.ie's asking rents for Q1 2026 show a one-bed apartment in Limerick City at **€1,800**, a two-bed at €2,187 (rising to **€2,244** by Q2 2026, up 11% in a year), a three-bed house at €2,563 and a double room in a shared house at **€687**, the cheapest room rate of the four main cities. Castletroy and Annacotty are popular with UL staff and families, Raheen and Dooradoyle for the hospital and industrial estate, and the city centre and Ennis Road for people who want to walk to work. Towns in County Limerick and across the river in Clare (Shannon, Ennis) are cheaper still.
Property type (Daft.ie Q1 2026 asking rents)Limerick CityCork CityGalway CityDublin
Studio€1,075€1,198€1,174not listed
One-bed apartment€1,800€1,806€1,547€2,012
Two-bed apartment€2,187€2,126€2,290€2,609
Three-bed house€2,563€2,516€2,492€3,162
Double room, shared house€687€757€773€918 (North City)
## Buying: Limerick's real advantage The gap opens up when you buy. The Daft.ie House Price Report for Q2 2026 puts the average three-bed semi in **Limerick City at €379,000**, up just 1.9% in a year, compared with €439,000 in Cork, €580,000 in Dublin and €626,000 in Galway. The CSO's Residential Property Price Index shows the Mid-West region (Limerick, Clare and Tipperary) up 5.6% in the 12 months to June 2026, but from a low base. A couple on two average salaries (CSO average weekly earnings were €1,046.88 in Q2 2026) can realistically buy a family home in Limerick within a few years of arriving, which is not true of Dublin or Galway. Local Property Tax on a €379,000 home is **€333 a year** at the basic rate. ## Transport Bus Éireann city services cost **€1.50 a single** with a Leap card (75 cent for students and young adults), and Limerick is part of the national TFI network. The city is flat and compact, and the Shannon riverside paths make cycling pleasant. Most people who work at the industrial estates in Raheen or the National Technology Park in Castletroy drive, and traffic is lighter than in Cork or Galway. Shannon Airport has direct flights to the UK, mainland Europe and the US, and the train to Dublin Heuston takes about two hours. If you drive, budget for motor tax, insurance and fuel; insurance quotes for new arrivals without an Irish claims history are high everywhere in Ireland. ## Groceries, energy and bills Supermarket prices do not vary by city. Allow **€260 to €350 a month** for one person and about €700 for a family of four, based on the CSO Household Budget Survey average of €161 a week per household. The Milk Market on Saturdays is Limerick's best food market. Energy costs the same as elsewhere: average annual bills were about €1,805 for electricity and €1,429 for gas in July 2026, so roughly €270 a month for a house with both and €100 to €150 for an apartment on electricity alone. Many older houses in the county are on oil heating, at about €1,270 per 1,000 litres in August 2026. Broadband runs €25 to €60 and a SIM-only mobile plan €10 to €15. Healthcare and childcare are national: a GP visit costs €50 to €70, the Drugs Payment Scheme caps prescriptions at €80 a month per family, and from September 2026 full-time creche fees in Core Funding services are capped at **€183.70 a week** after the universal subsidy. ## A monthly budget for Limerick
ItemSingle person, one-bedCouple with one child, three-bed house
Rent€1,800€2,563
Energy€130€270
Broadband and mobile€55€80
Groceries€300€550
Transport (bus)€60€120
Childcare€0€796
Health allowance€40€80
Total before leisureabout €2,385about €4,460
On rent alone, Limerick no longer undercuts Cork, and one-bed apartments are as dear as Cork's. Where it wins is on shared rooms, house prices and commute times, and on the simple fact that your salary in a multinational here is close to what you would earn in Dublin while your mortgage would be a third smaller. ## ★ Useful links - [RTB Rent Index](https://www.rtb.ie/data-insights/rtb-research-reports/rtb-esri-rent-index/) - [Daft.ie Rental and House Price Reports](https://www.daft.ie/report) - [CSO Residential Property Price Index](https://www.cso.ie/en/statistics/prices/residentialpropertypriceindex/) - [Transport for Ireland bus fares](https://www.transportforireland.ie/fares/bus-fares/) - [Limerick City and County Council](https://www.limerick.ie/council) ![](https://www.movingtoireland.co/apple-touch-icon.png) You have read 22% of this guide ## Keep reading in the Moving to Ireland app The rest of **Cost of living in Limerick** — about 3 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 - Buying: Limerick's real advantage - Transport - Groceries, energy and bills - A monthly budget for Limerick [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)