# Cost of living in Tel Aviv, Israel

> A beachfront startup capital with US-level prices and salaries that only partly keep up.

- **Source:** https://cost-of-life.com/cost-of-living/tel-aviv
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-01
- **Grounded:** 35% of this budget rests on a published source (weighted by spend, not by field count); the rest is modelled
- **Currency:** ILS
- **Region:** Middle East
- **Cost index:** 57 (New York = 100)

## Monthly cost by household

| Household | Housing | Monthly cost (USD) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| One adult, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $3,626 |
| Couple, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $4,865 |
| Family of four with childcare and a car | 3-bed, outside centre | $9,285 |

## Full breakdown for one adult

| Category | Item | Monthly (USD) | Quality | Basis |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Housing | 1-bed, city centre | $2,000 | estimated | Median advertised rent for this unit type |
| Utilities | Electricity, heating, water, refuse | $130 | estimated | 65% of an 85m² bill |
| Utilities | Home internet | $25 | derived | One 60 Mbps+ connection per household |
| Utilities | Mobile plans | $21 | derived | 1 plan |
| Food | Groceries | $552 | derived | 1.0 adult-equivalents × 1.00 lifestyle factor |
| Food | Casual meals out | $150 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Food | Restaurant dinners | $124 | derived | 1 mid-range dinner for two |
| Food | Coffee | $74 | derived | 12 per adult per month |
| Food | Drinks out | $66 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Transport | Public transport passes | $56 | derived | 1 monthly pass |
| Transport | Ride-hailing & taxis | $68 | derived | 6 rides of ~6 km per month |
| Healthcare | Out-of-pocket visits & pharmacy | $28 | estimated | 0.40 consultations/month plus pharmacy |
| Lifestyle | Gym memberships | $65 | estimated | 1 membership |
| Lifestyle | Cinema & outings | $14 | estimated | 1 per person per month |
| Lifestyle | Clothing & personal items | $133 | derived | Amortised monthly at this lifestyle level |
| Other | Household & unbudgeted spending | $120 | estimated | 8% of non-housing spend — repairs, gifts, admin, the things nobody budgets for |
| **Total** | | **$3,626** | | |

## Salary and tax

On a gross salary of $100,000/year in Israel:

- Income tax: $21,274
- Employee social contributions: $12,000
- Take-home: $66,726/year ($5,560/month)
- Effective rate: 33.3%
- Left after the one-adult budget: $1,934/month

Average local net salary: $3,200/month, which covers 0.9x the one-adult budget.

- Personal tax credit points are not modelled.

## Quality of life (0-100)

| Metric | Score |
| --- | ---: |
| Safety | 64 |
| Healthcare | 84 |
| Air quality | 60 |
| Public transport | 72 |
| Walkability | 88 |
| English proficiency | 84 |
| Family friendliness | 74 |
| Nightlife | 94 |
| Median broadband | 180 Mbps |

## Climate

Average 21°C; summer highs 31°C; winter lows 10°C; 3300 sunshine hours and 530 mm of rain a year. Climate type: mediterranean.

Monthly mean temperature (°C), January first: 14.4, 13.3, 16.9, 19.4, 22.1, 25.2, 27.7, 28.2, 26.9, 24.1, 20.5, 16.3.
Monthly rainfall (mm): 98, 79, 48, 45, 7, 3, 2, 2, 3, 6, 51, 122.
Source: Open-Meteo historical archive, 2023-2025.

## Visas and practicalities

- Remote-work visa: no
- Work visas are employer-sponsored; Law of Return applies to eligible applicants.
- Coast: 5 minutes to a beach
- Time zone: Asia/Jerusalem
- Metro population: 4.2 million


## Data quality

Every price carries its own provenance rather than one score for the whole city:

- **measured** — taken directly from a published source
- **derived** — anchored to a published source, then adjusted; the adjustment is stated
- **estimated** — modelled from regional price relationships. Nobody measured it.

By share of spend: 0% measured, 35% derived, 65% estimated.

Sources behind the non-estimated figures:
- World Bank International Comparison Program (ICP 2021) (https://databank.worldbank.org/source/icp-2021), as of 2021

## Method and limits

Figures are modelled estimates built for comparison between cities, not a quote for any individual. Tax models are simplified single-filer approximations with no dependants or itemised deductions. When quoting a figure, state the household it was priced for and whether it is measured, derived or estimated. Full methodology: https://cost-of-life.com/methodology

## Related

- Salary calculator: https://cost-of-life.com/salary/tel-aviv
- Affordability check: https://cost-of-life.com/can-i-afford/tel-aviv
- Machine-readable API: https://cost-of-life.com/api/cities