In a study of the socioeconomic level of Israel's residential
centers, the country's three largest cities were ranked as
middle and high. Jerusalem was placed in group 5; Tel Aviv-
Yaffo in group 8; and Haifa in group 7 (group 1 is lowest;
group 10 is highest). These findings were derived from the
analysis of a series of socioeconomic factors. Additional
large cities were also classed as medium-high: Rishon Letzion-
8, Holon-7, Petach Tikvah-7, Beersheva-5, and Netanya-6.
The finding were culled from a study called, "Grading the
Cities and the Local Councils: Classification According to
Socioeconomic Levels." The study was conducted by the
government's Central Bureau for Statistics at the request of
the Interior Ministry. Its chief purpose was to prepare a
tool to help the Interior Ministry determine criteria for the
allocation of resources to local authorities.
The source of most of the data is the Population and Housing
Census, conducted in 1995. Data about income and financial
aid was also provided by the National Insurance Institute
(Bituach Leumi).
The study examined a long list of variables. Through the use
of sophisticated statistical methods, the data were combined
into one quantitative socioeconomic index. Among the
statistics examined were financial resources, methods of
transportation, employment statistics, welfare cases and
scholastic levels.
The study currently relates to each local community as a
single unit, without examining differences between various
sectors within each.
The locales were divided into 10 homogeneous groups according
to the socioeconomic indices. For example, a city on the
highest level (number 10) is characterized by a high income
rate per capita (five times as much as that of the average
per capita rate in lower grade locales) and by a high
percentage of households with computers (63% as opposed to 5%
on a lower level).
Cities or other locales in which there is at least one
university graduate in each household are: Har Adar, Maccabim-
Re'ut, Kochav Yair-Savyon and Kfar Vradim (all of which
belong to group 10). Places where the amount of university
graduates per household is the lowest are: Rahat, Ilut,
Zarzir, Jasra-a-Zakra.
Among the places with the highest average income are Savyon,
Ramat Hasharon, Kfar Shmaryahu, Omer, Har Adar, and Neve
Ephraim. Among those with the lowest average incomes are
Beitar Illit, Kalya Arur, Segev-Shalom and Emanuel.
This year's analysis was compared to one made in 1995 of
similar types of locales (publication no. 1039 of the Central
Bureau for Statistics). The classifying was done by similar
methods, but the variables are not all the same. The current
listing contains 19 locales that were not included in the
former study.
A comparison shows that the grading of most of the locales
(93% of them) has not changed, or has changed only by one
level.
Currently, the Belmas Data Company is preparing to issue
material which will include the detailed grading of the
cities and towns, the variable values used in the processing
of the material, and explanations of the methodology as well
as analysis of the findings. It will also contain grading of
the various statistical regions within the communities and
the regional councils.
