Ramat Gan tops quality of life index among Israel’s biggest cities

The Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan has the highest quality of life of any large municipality in Israel, according to a report published Tuesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The leafy middle class suburb east of Tel Aviv is home to both the country’s stock exchange and a safari park.

Following Ramat Gan are the cities of Rehovot and Rishon Lezion, both located south of Tel Aviv in the Gush Dan region.

Bat Yam, located just south of Tel Aviv on the coast, ranked last in the list of 14 cities. Rounding out the bottom three cities were Ashkelon and Jerusalem.

The report surveyed the 14 largest municipalities in Israel on measures of health, employment, financial satisfaction, housing and education.

Ramat Gan ranked highest in work satisfaction, housing density, life expectancy and median household income.

Bat Yam reported below average life expectancy, rate of overweight first graders and economic satisfaction. The city had the lowest rate of infant mortality, however, and a very low rate of fatal road accidents.

Tel Aviv placed fourth, with the highest rate of employment and the lowest rate of involuntary part-time employment.

Beersheba ranked eighth, with a high level of trust in government, the only city where women held more managerial positions in the public sector than men, and the highest rate of infant mortality.

Jerusalem’s ranking near the bottom is likely due to widespread poverty in the city, the country’s largest, and its high rate of unemployment.

The full list:

1. Ramat Gan
2. Rehovot
3. Rishon Letzion
4. Tel Aviv
5. Petah Tikva
6. Bnei Brak
7. Netanya
8. Beersheba
9. Haifa
10. Holon
11. Ashdod
12. Jerusalem
13. Ashkelon
14. Bat Yam