Cost of living in Limerick

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.

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

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
• Daft.ie Rental and House Price Reports
• CSO Residential Property Price Index
• Transport for Ireland bus fares
• Limerick City and County Council