Which Israeli City Scores Best on Quality of Life?
Kfar Saba leads most quality-of-life indicators among Israel’s big cities in the Central Bureau of Statistics release for 2024.
98.1% of Kfar Saba residents reported satisfaction with their work in 2024, against a national average of 91.9%, on the Central Bureau of Statistics release Well-Being Indicators in the Big Cities, 2024, published 2 February 2026. The Bureau states that Kfar Saba leads most of the quality-of-life indicators among Israel’s big cities, which it defines as those with 100,000 residents or more. Most of the indicators are survey-reported satisfaction and trust measures collected by the Bureau; a few, including life expectancy and infant mortality, are measured outcomes. The release names leaders indicator by indicator and publishes no single combined score.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 98.1% | Kfar Saba residents satisfied with their work, survey-reported | 2024 |
| 91.9% | National average, satisfaction with work, survey-reported | 2024 |
| 84.3% | Kfar Saba residents satisfied with parks and green spaces in their area of residence | 2024 |
| 61.9% | National average, satisfaction with parks and green spaces | 2024 |
| 22.7% | Kfar Saba residents reporting external noise disturbing in the dwelling | 2024 |
| 62.7% | Kfar Saba residents reporting general trust in others | 2024 |
| 38.3% | National average, general trust in others | 2024 |
| 99,511 | Residents of Kfar Saba, against the release’s 100,000 threshold for a big city | 2024 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Well-Being Indicators in the Big Cities, 2024, media release 037/2026, 2 February 2026. All figures are the Bureau’s own, and the satisfaction and trust figures are survey-reported rather than measured outcomes.
Kfar Saba leads most quality-of-life indicators among the big cities
The Central Bureau of Statistics states in its own release that Kfar Saba leads most of the quality-of-life indicators against the other big cities. The indicators the Bureau names in that list are satisfaction with work, life expectancy, satisfaction with parks and green spaces, the lowest share reporting disturbing external noise, the lowest infant mortality, and use of online government services. On satisfaction with cleanliness the Bureau places Kfar Saba second.
- Leads: satisfaction with work
- Leads: life expectancy
- Leads: satisfaction with parks and green spaces in the area of residence
- Leads: lowest share reporting external noise disturbing in the dwelling
- Leads: lowest infant mortality
- Leads: use of online government services
- Second: satisfaction with cleanliness
98.1% satisfied with work in Kfar Saba, against 91.9% nationally
Each city figure in the release is printed beside the national average for the same indicator, and the Bureau publishes both together. Three of the four indicators below are survey-reported: they record what residents said in the Bureau’s own survey rather than a measured outcome. External noise is a negative indicator, so the lower Kfar Saba share is the leading position the Bureau records.
Kfar Saba had 99,511 residents, below the 100,000 threshold
The Central Bureau of Statistics defines a big city as one with 100,000 residents or more, and the release extends that definition to include Kfar Saba, which the Bureau counts at 99,511 residents in 2024. The comparison therefore covers the big cities plus Kfar Saba, and the city the Bureau records as leading most indicators sits inside the group by that extension.
Herzliya leads on income, Rehovot on education and influence
The lead is recorded indicator by indicator rather than as an overall placing, and the Central Bureau of Statistics names other cities at the top of several indicators in the same release.
| City | Indicator it leads | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Herzliya | Median household income from work | 2024 |
| Rehovot | Satisfaction with the area of residence | 2024 |
| Rehovot | Post-secondary and higher education | 2024 |
| Rehovot | Sense of being able to influence policy | 2024 |
| Kfar Saba | Most other indicators named in the release | 2024 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Well-Being Indicators in the Big Cities, 2024. Satisfaction and sense of influence are survey-reported; median household income from work is a measured statistic.
The Bureau publishes no single composite quality-of-life score
The Central Bureau of Statistics reports the big cities indicator by indicator and names a leader per indicator. The release carries no combined index, no ranked list of all the big cities and no comparison with smaller towns or regional councils. Other Israeli bodies publish service-quality figures on their own units of comparison rather than by city, as the State Comptroller’s own audits do.
| Publication | Unit of comparison | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Central Bureau of Statistics, Well-Being Indicators in the Big Cities | City, indicator by indicator | 2024 |
| State Comptroller, Waiting Times for Specialist Medical Services | Health fund, on the Comptroller’s own audit | 2024 report |
| State Comptroller, Accessibility of Higher Education to Haredi Society | Population group, on the Comptroller’s own follow-up audit | 2025 report |
Which figures here may not be combined?
The satisfaction, trust and noise figures are survey-reported shares from the Bureau’s own survey; life expectancy, infant mortality and median household income from work are measured statistics. They are separate indicators and the Bureau does not combine them into a score, so no overall ranking may be derived from them here. Every city figure has its own national average printed beside it in the release, and a city share means nothing on its own. External noise disturbing in the dwelling is a negative indicator, so a lower share is the better reading and a table sorting all indicators the same way inverts it. The 99,511 residents figure is the Bureau’s count for Kfar Saba in 2024, below the release’s own 100,000 threshold.
Questions readers ask
Which city does the Central Bureau of Statistics record as leading most indicators?
The Central Bureau of Statistics states that Kfar Saba leads most of the quality-of-life indicators among the big cities in its release for 2024.
What counts as a big city in this release?
The Central Bureau of Statistics defines the big cities as those with 100,000 residents or more, and extends the definition in this release to include Kfar Saba.
How many people live in Kfar Saba?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counts 99,511 residents in Kfar Saba in 2024.
How satisfied are Kfar Saba residents with their work?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reports 98.1% satisfaction with work in Kfar Saba in 2024, against a national average of 91.9%.
What share of Israelis report general trust in others?
The Central Bureau of Statistics records a national average of 38.3% for general trust in others in 2024, with 62.7% in Kfar Saba.
Which city leads on income?
The Central Bureau of Statistics records Herzliya as leading on median household income from work in 2024.
What does Rehovot lead on?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reports that Rehovot leads on satisfaction with the area of residence, on post-secondary and higher education, and on the sense of being able to influence policy in 2024.
Is there a single ranked list of Israeli cities?
The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes no combined index and no ranked list of all the big cities in this release; it names a leader per indicator.
Are small towns included?
The Central Bureau of Statistics covers only the big cities and Kfar Saba in this release, and publishes no small-town or regional-council comparison in it.
Are these figures survey answers or measured outcomes?
The Central Bureau of Statistics collects the satisfaction, noise and trust indicators through its own survey, and reports life expectancy, infant mortality and median household income from work as measured statistics.
How does Kfar Saba do on noise?
The Central Bureau of Statistics records 22.7% of Kfar Saba residents reporting external noise disturbing in the dwelling in 2024, against a national average of 30.7%, the lowest share among the cities covered.
Do other Israeli bodies rank cities on services?
The State Comptroller reported waiting times for specialist medical services by health fund in 2024 and reported higher-education accessibility by population group in 2025, neither of them as a city ranking.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2026. Well-Being Indicators in the Big Cities, 2024. Media release 037/2026, quality of life indicators domain, 2 February 2026. cbs.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2024. Waiting Times for Specialist Medical Services. Chapter 601, annual report 75A part B, November 2024. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2025. Accessibility of Higher Education to Haredi Society, Follow-up Audit. Report 75c, May 2025. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
