A UEFA report on the 'European Club Footballing Landscape' has revealed that League of Ireland sides are far more reliant on gate receipts than their counterparts in other leagues.
The study, based on 2015 figures, shows that 31% of the total €11m revenue for SSE Airtricity Premier Division clubs came from attendances, which were the highest in "at least 10 seasons".
That was the third-highest proportion behind Scotland (37%) and Switzerland (34%).
Sponsorship and commercial activities also accounted for a large bulk (44%) of the €900,000 mean income for Premier Division sides.
Clubs spent an average of 59% of their income on player wages for a total bill of €6.7m, which ranked the league 37th out of 55 overall.
For the first time on record, the wage bill of English Premier League clubs (€2.69bn) was more than double the next highest paying league, Italy’s Serie A (€1.3bn).
The trend in recent years towards nine-month contracts is reflected in the fact that just 3% of LOI revenue came from transfer fees, compared to 15% in England and 30% in Bosnia.
The age profile of the Premier Division's players is among the youngest in the continent at 24.4 years.
