About two-thirds of the public in Israel (66%) positively evaluate the performance of the local authority in their area of residence, according to data from the 2025 Social Survey published on Wednesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics. Conversely, about a quarter of the public (27%) believes the authority's performance is not good.
The data point to gaps between sectors: While among the Jewish population, 69% positively evaluate the authority's performance (and 23% evaluate it as not good), among the Arab population, only 53% express positive satisfaction with the authority's performance, and 42% believe its performance is not good.
A similar picture emerges regarding the question of service equality: 66% of the public believe the authority provides services equally, regardless of gender, age, and sector. This rate stands at 70% among Jews, compared to only 53% among Arabs. About 20% of the public feel that the service is not equal (15% of Jews and 40% of Arabs).
Among the large cities, a particularly high percentage of residents who positively evaluate the municipality's performance was found in Petah Tikva (85% evaluate positively) and Rishon Lezion (81%). In both cities, a significant jump in performance evaluation was evident over the past decade: Petah Tikva recorded an impressive increase from 61% in 2015 to 85% in 2025, and Rishon Lezion saw its rate rise from 71% to 81%.
A particularly prominent and impressive improvement was recorded in Jerusalem, where the percentage of residents who positively evaluate the municipality's performance jumped from only 39% in 2015 to 68% in 2025.
In Tel Aviv-Yafo, a high and stable evaluation of municipal performance was also recorded, with 76% evaluating it positively in 2025 (compared to 75% in 2015). In Ashdod, 72% of residents report a positive evaluation of the municipality's performance (an increase from 70% in 2015).
Conversely, in other large cities, a decline in the evaluation of municipal performance was recorded over the decade:
The Situation in the Large Cities
- In Petah Tikva, an increase was recorded from 61% in 2015 to 85%.
- In Rishon Lezion, an increase was recorded from 71% in 2015 to 81%.
- In Tel Aviv-Yafo, an increase was recorded from 75% in 2015 to 76%.
- In Ashdod, an increase was recorded from 70% in 2015 to 72%.
- In Jerusalem, an increase was recorded from 39% in 2015 to 68%.
- In Netanya, a decline was recorded from 73% in 2015 to 71%.
- In Bnei Brak, the percentage of those evaluating positively dropped from 61% in 2015 to 56%.
- In Haifa, a slight increase was recorded from 50% in 2015 to 56%.
- In Beersheba, an increase was recorded from 46% in 2015 to 51%.
About a Third of the Public Contacted the Authority
According to CBS indicators, 33% of those aged 20 and over (about 2.1 million people) used local authority services in their locality over the past year, a rate similar to that recorded a decade ago (34%). Married people contact authorities more than single people (38% compared to 20%), while the rate of contact among Jews and Arabs is nearly identical (34% and 31%, respectively).
Over the past decade, a significant shift toward online contact was recorded: The most common way to contact the authority today is via the internet and email, which was used by 40% of applicants (compared to only 16% in 2015). This rate reaches a peak in Tel Aviv-Yafo, where 65% of applicants did so online.
On the other hand, 39% of those seeking service met in person with a clerk, a sharp drop compared to the 69% recorded in 2015. Face-to-face service is currently more common in small localities (45%) than in cities with over 200,000 residents (27%). Another channel is telephone inquiries, which were used by 38% of applicants.