List of cities in Israel

This article is about cities within Israel. For those in the Israeli-occupied territories, see List of Israeli settlements.

The 15 most populous cities in Israel

Jerusalem

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Haifa

Petah Tikva

Rishon LeZion

Netanya

Ashdod

Bnei Brak

Beersheba

Holon

Ramat Gan

Beit Shemesh

Ashkelon

Rehovot

Bat Yam

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This article lists the 78 localities in Israel that the Israeli Ministry of Interior has designated as a city council. It includes occupied East Jerusalem but excludes the four Israeli settlements in the West Bank that are designated as cities.

The list is based on the current index of the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Within Israel's system of local government, an urban municipality can be granted a city council by the Interior Ministry when its population exceeds 20,000. ^[1] The term "city" does not generally refer to local councils or urban agglomerations, even though a defined city often contains only a small portion of an urban area or metropolitan area's population.

List of cities

As for 2025, Israel has 18 cities with populations over 100,000, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Yafo. In all, there are 80 Israeli localities granted "municipalities" (or "city") status by the Ministry of the Interior, including four Israeli settlements in the West Bank. ^[2] Two more cities, Kasif and Tila, are planned to be built in the Negev. The area and population of Jerusalem includes that of East Jerusalem which has been de facto annexed by Israel and incorporated within Jerusalem's municipal borders under the Jerusalem Law. This, however, is not recognized by the international community who regard East Jerusalem to be Palestinian territory held under Israeli occupation. ^{[3] [4]} If East Jerusalem is considered part of Israel, Tel Aviv is the country's second most populous city with 495,230 residents after Jerusalem with 1,028,366; if not, Tel Aviv is the most populous city, followed by West Jerusalem with 362,960. ^[5]

The following table lists Israeli cities, not including the settlements, by name, district, population, area, and the Socio-Economic Index, according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics:

Name	Photo	District	Metro area [6]	Founded	Area (km2) [7]	Population				SEI [8]
						Estimate (2023) [9]	Census (2022) [10]	Change (2022– –2023)	Density (per km2)
Acre [cbs 1]		North	Haifa	Bronze Age	18.09	53,422	50,555	+6%	2,953	−0.467
Afula		North	—	Bronze Age	29.17	64,578	60,828	+6%	2,214	−0.327
Arad		South	—	1962	126.13	29,323	27,586	+6%	232	−0.876
Arraba [cbs 2]		North	—	Antiquity	8.4	26,810	26,119	+3%	3,192	−0.728
Ashdod		South	Gush Dan	1956 [note 1]	63.9	229,173	227,865	+1%	3,586	−0.246
Ashkelon [cbs 3]		South	—	Neolithic	52.32	161,744	152,370	+6%	3,091	−0.135
Baqa al-Gharbiyye		Haifa	—	Middle Ages	9.18	30,750	29,868	+3%	3,350	−0.560
Bat Yam		Tel Aviv	Gush Dan	1926	9.41	131,099	128,152	+2%	13,932	−0.219
Be'er Ya'akov [cbs 4]		Center	Gush Dan	1907	9.46	34,601	31,439	+10%	3,658	0.783
Beersheba [cbs 5]		South	Beersheba	1900 [note 2]	117.39	218,995	217,577	+1%	1,866	−0.111
Beit She'an [cbs 6]		North	—	Neolithic	10.97	20,249	19,825	+2%	1,846	−0.392
Beit Shemesh [cbs 7]		Jerusalem	Jerusalem	1950	38.29	167,318	145,554	+15%	4,370	−1.485
Bnei Brak [cbs 8]		Tel Aviv	Gush Dan	1924	7.35	223,785	216,869	+3%	30,447	−1.627
Dimona		South	—	1955	220.46	39,230	37,213	+5%	178	−0.387
Eilat [cbs 9]		South	—	1951	101.49	57,339	55,213	+4%	565	0.151
El'ad		Center	Gush Dan	1998	3.49	49,766	48,825	+2%	14,260	−1.452
Ganei Tikva [cbs 10]		Center	Gush Dan	1949	2.16	25,093	23,650	+6%	11,617	1.474
Giv'at Shmuel [cbs 11]		Center	Gush Dan	1944	2.58	28,628	27,472	+4%	11,096	1.135
Givatayim [cbs 12]		Tel Aviv	Gush Dan	1922	3.24	58,557	58,052	+1%	18,073	1.569
Hadera		Haifa	—	1891	56.28	106,765	103,847	+3%	1,897	0.184
Haifa		Haifa	Haifa	Antiquity	72.93	298,312	289,507	+3%	4,090	0.391
Harish		Haifa	—	1982	9	39,001	31,733	+23%	4,333	−0.182
Herzliya [cbs 13]		Tel Aviv	Gush Dan	1924	24.07	108,650	105,273	+3%	4,514	1.361
Hod HaSharon		Center	Gush Dan	1924	19.26	65,393	65,020	+1%	3,395	1.567
Holon		Tel Aviv	Gush Dan	1935	19.04	192,980	192,655	0%	10,136	0.371
Jerusalem		Jerusalem	Jerusalem	Neolithic (East Jerusalem) mid-1800s (West Jerusalem)	125.55	1,028,366	1,005,919	+2%	8,191	−1.196
Kafr Qara [cbs 14]		Haifa	—	?	7.81	20,580	19,890	+3%	2,635	−0.112
Kafr Qasim [cbs 15]		Center	Gush Dan	19th century	9.3	27,121	26,389	+3%	2,916	−0.574
Karmiel [cbs 16]		North	—	1964	22.03	48,675	47,450	+3%	2,209	0.020
Kfar Saba [cbs 17]		Center	Gush Dan	1903	14.48	100,013	100,262	0%	6,907	1.192
Kfar Yona [cbs 18]		Center	Gush Dan	1932	11.51	29,548	28,135	+5%	2,567	0.781
Kiryat Ata [cbs 19]		Haifa	Haifa	1925	24.16	62,134	60,465	+3%	2,572	0.090
Kiryat Bialik [cbs 20]		Haifa	Haifa	1934	8.48	46,417	44,806	+4%	5,474	0.328
Kiryat Gat [cbs 21]		South	—	1954	15.85	69,762	63,386	+10%	4,401	−0.552
Kiryat Malakhi [cbs 22]		South	Gush Dan	1950	4.58	27,396	26,362	+4%	5,982	−0.671
Kiryat Motzkin [cbs 23]		Haifa	Haifa	1934	3.84	51,349	49,057	+5%	13,372	0.402
Kiryat Ono [cbs 24]		Tel Aviv	Gush Dan	1939	4.6	43,310	41,537	+4%	9,415	1.594
Kiryat Shmona [cbs 25]		North	—	1949	14.38	24,254	23,083	+5%	1,687	−0.163
Kiryat Yam [cbs 26]		Haifa	Haifa	1941	11.34	42,246	38,906	+9%	3,725	−0.247
Lod		Center	Gush Dan	Neolithic	14.79	90,814	87,430	+4%	6,140	−0.738
Ma'alot-Tarshiha		North	—	1963	9.26	23,133	22,720	+2%	2,498	−0.057
Maghar [cbs 27]		North	—	?	21.11	23,184	22,564	+3%	1,098	−0.793
Migdal HaEmek [cbs 28]		North	—	1953	8.71	28,545	27,045	+6%	3,277	−0.398
Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut [cbs 29]		Center	Gush Dan	1985	48.33	97,566	92,307	+6%	2,019	1.420
Nahariya [cbs 30]		North	Haifa	1935	13.83	68,316	63,318	+8%	4,940	0.143
Nazareth		North	—	Bronze Age	14.17	77,208	77,295	0%	5,449	−0.704
Nesher		Haifa	Haifa	1923	12.94	22,760	22,911	−1%	1,759	0.564
Ness Ziona [cbs 31]		Center	Gush Dan	1883	15.68	47,534	47,620	0%	3,032	1.304
Netanya		Center	Gush Dan	1929	34.75	233,485	223,920	+4%	6,719	0.084
Netivot		South	—	1956	16.22	52,877	45,024	+17%	3,260	−0.762
Nof HaGalil		North	—	1957	32.86	45,587	43,479	+5%	1,387	−0.298
Ofakim [cbs 32]		South	Beersheba	1955	16.35	37,837	35,355	+7%	2,314	−0.730
Or Akiva [cbs 33]		Haifa	—	1951	5.55	24,203	22,173	+9%	4,361	−0.009
Or Yehuda		Tel Aviv	Gush Dan	1955	6.73	40,143	36,850	+9%	5,965	0.005
Petah Tikva [cbs 34]		Center	Gush Dan	1878	35.77	267,196	264,046	+1%	7,470	0.550
Qalansawe		Center	Gush Dan	Middle Ages	8.37	24,728	23,951	+3%	2,954	−0.732
Ra'anana [cbs 35]		Center	Gush Dan	1922	14.86	83,145	80,155	+4%	5,595	1.280
Rahat		South	Beersheba	1972	33.48	75,684	71,355	+6%	2,261	−1.845
Ramat Gan		Tel Aviv	Gush Dan	1921	16.39	167,794	165,155	+2%	10,238	1.099
Ramat HaSharon		Tel Aviv	Gush Dan	1923	16.73	49,002	48,986	0%	2,929	1.699
Ramla		Center	Gush Dan	8th century	13.39	84,312	81,126	+4%	6,297	−0.399
Rehovot		Center	Gush Dan	1890	23.76	153,416	150,471	+2%	6,457	0.601
Rishon LeZion [cbs 36]		Center	Gush Dan	1882	61.91	258,680	252,413	+2%	4,178	0.727
Rosh HaAyin		Center	Gush Dan	1949	15.86	77,104	74,572	+3%	4,862	0.781
Safed [cbs 37]		North	—	Bronze Age	29.94	39,179	37,801	+4%	1,309	−1.351
Sakhnin		North	—	Bronze Age	11.53	33,201	32,355	+3%	2,880	−0.511
Sderot [cbs 38]		South	—	1951	10.66	35,477	31,108	+14%	3,328	−0.132
Shefa-Amr [cbs 39]		North	Haifa	Bronze Age	19.63	43,408	42,713	+2%	2,211	−0.712
Tamra		North	Haifa	?	29.77	36,251	35,349	+3%	1,218	−0.773
Tayibe		Center	Gush Dan	?	18.91	46,194	45,071	+2%	2,443	−0.680
Tel Aviv-Yafo		Tel Aviv	Gush Dan	Neolithic (Jaffa) 1887 (Neve Tzedek)	57.1	495,230	492,872	0%	8,673	1.293
Tiberias		North	—	20	16.19	51,476	48,509	+6%	3,179	−0.779
Tira [cbs 40]		Center	Gush Dan	?	11.85	27,228	26,567	+2%	2,298	−0.275
Tirat Carmel [cbs 41]		Haifa	Haifa	?	6.71	31,896	29,069	+10%	4,754	0.108
Umm al-Fahm		Haifa	—	?	26.03	59,319	57,560	+3%	2,279	−1.266
Yavne		Center	Gush Dan	Bronze Age	29.18	57,725	54,981	+5%	1,978	0.514
Yehud-Monosson [cbs 42]		Center	Gush Dan	?	5.73	32,071	30,977	+4%	5,597	0.963
Yokneam Illit [cbs 43]		North	Haifa	1950	8.31	24,910	23,729	+5%	2,998	0.795

See also

• Arab localities in Israel
• Chronology of Aliyah in modern times
• Demographics of Israel
• Districts of Israel
• Four Holy Cities
• Jewish population by city
• List of cities in Palestine
• List of kibbutzim
• List of largest cities in the Levant region by population
• List of modern names for biblical place names
• List of moshavim
• List of twin towns and sister cities in Israel
• List of villages depopulated during the Arab–Israeli conflict
• Lists of cities by country
• Population displacements in Israel after 1948
• Population statistics for Israeli settlements in the West Bank
• Urban planning in Israel

Notes

General

1. Tel Ashdod, remains of the ancient town, lies east of the modern city.
2. Tel Be'er Sheva, remains of the ancient town, lies east of the modern city.

Official spellings

1. Akko
2. Arrabe
3. Ashqelon
4. Be'er Ya'aqov
5. Be'er Sheva
6. Bet She'an
7. Bet Shemesh
8. Bene Beraq
9. Elat
10. Ganne Tiqwa
11. Giv'at Shemu'el
12. Giv'atayim
13. Herzliyya
14. Kafar Qara
15. Kafar Qasem
16. Karmi'el
17. Kefar Sava
18. Kefar Yona
19. Qiryat Atta
20. Qiryat Bialik
21. Qiryat Gat
22. Qiryat Mal'akhi
23. Qiryat Motzkin
24. Qiryat Ono
25. Qiryat Shemona
26. Qiryat Yam
27. Mughar
28. Migdal HaEmeq
29. Modi'in-Makkabbim-Re'ut
30. Nahariyya
31. Nes Ziyyona
32. Ofaqim
33. Or Aqiva
34. Petah Tiqwa
35. Ra'annana
36. Rishon LeZiyyon
37. Zefat
38. Sederot
39. Shefar'am
40. Tire
41. Tirat Karmel
42. Yehud-Monoson
43. Yoqne'am Illit

References

1. "Israeli Democracy: How Does It Work?". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
2. "Localities and Population, by Municipal Status and District" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 19 January 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
3. Symon, Fiona (4 December 2001). "Jerusalem: Crucible of the conflict". BBC News Online. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
4. "Background on East Jerusalem". B'Tselem. 8 July 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
5. Population of Jerusalem, by Age, Religion and Geographical Spreading (PDF). Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem (Report). Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research. 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
6. Regional Statistics (Report). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
7. "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
8. Local Authorities, in Alphabetical Order of Hebrew Names: Socio-Economic Index Value 2021, Rank and Cluster, and Variables Used in the Computation of the Index (PDF). Characterization and Classification of Geographical Units by the Socio-Economic Level of the Population (Report). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
9. "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
10. "Population Census". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2025.

External links

• Regional Statistics at the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
• Cities and towns at the National Library of Israel
• List of cities and towns in Israel at the Encyclopædia Britannica