Neighborhood socioeconomic clusters

The Central Bureau of Statistics recently released data on the socioeconomic characterization of neighborhoods in Israeli cities. The CBS usually publishes such data only after a census, but since these are based on administrative sources such as Bituah Leumi (the National Insurance Institute) and the Transportation Ministry, the index can also be calculated without a full census. The socioeconomic index is an adjusted calculation of 14 different variables that measure social and economic levels in four areas: demographics, education, standard of living and employment. According to the rating, the neighborhoods or localities are divided into clusters, with 1 being the lowest rating and 10 the highest. The city of Jerusalem falls into Cluster 2, as do many of Israel's Arab localities (such as Kalansuwa), along with Israel's haredi cities (such as Bnei Brak). Jerusalem is diverse. It has wealthy, poor and middle-class neighborhoods that are ranked anywhere between Cluster 1 and 9. (There are some 19,000 residents in seven ultra-wealthy neighborhoods in Israel that fall into Cluster 10. Most are located in Tel Aviv and Ramat Hasharon, with about 6,000 in three other towns.) In 2015 (the year covered by the data), most Jerusalem residents lived in the lower-cluster neighborhoods. Some 61% of Jerusalemites lived in neighborhoods that fell into Clusters 1-2. However, if one examines the Arab, haredi and general population areas separately, large differences can be found between community rankings. All the areas with an Arab majority fell into Clusters 1 to 3, with the majority of the population in these regions (76%) living in Cluster 1. All of the towns with a large concentration of haredi residents fall into Clusters 1 to 4, and in these areas, too, the majority (53%) live in Cluster 1. Among the general, non-haredi Jewish population, there is a greater distribution between clusters, with most people living in neighborhoods that fall in Clusters 5 to 8, and the largest group (21% of the population) living in a Cluster 5 neighborhood. It is important to note that many of these populations live in non-typical neighborhoods, and that even in the typical neighborhoods there are individuals who do not fit the overall rankings of the majority of residents. There are 48,000 residents in Jerusalem neighborhoods that fall into Clusters 8 and 9, which are similar to localities such as Mevaseret Zion, Herzliya, Givatayim and Har Adar. Translated by Hannah Hochner.

Neighborhood socioeconomic clusters

The city of Jerusalem falls into Cluster 2, as do many of Israel’s Arab localities (such as Kalansuwa), along with Israel’s haredi cities (such as Bnei Brak).

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Neighborhood socioeconomic clusters

The city of Jerusalem falls into Cluster 2, as do many of Israel’s Arab localities (such as Kalansuwa), along with Israel’s haredi cities (such as Bnei Brak).

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