(haipo) – The 2025 Social Survey of the Central Bureau of Statistics presents an up-to-date picture of the public’s attitudes toward local authorities in Israel. In Haifa, the third largest city, the data paints a complex reality: on the one hand, an improvement in the assessment of the municipality’s performance compared to the previous decade, and on the other, mediocre levels of satisfaction compared to other large cities. This is how Haifa is seen through the eyes of its residents.
Two surveys, one composite picture
The 2024 social survey presented a critical picture of municipal satisfaction in Haifa, as measured in the CBS survey. Many residents then expressed frustration with areas such as cleanliness, public transportation, handling of hazards, and municipal services. Now, with the publication of the 2025 social survey, it is possible to examine whether there has been a significant change in residents' attitudes toward the municipality. The two surveys (both based on CBS data) allow us to draw a clear trend line between the years and identify the improvement alongside the remaining challenges.
Municipality performance: Significant increase between 2024 and 2025
One of the most notable changes over the years is in the assessment of the municipality's overall performance. While in 2024 only about40 % of residents expressed satisfaction with the functioning of the municipality, 2025 data indicates a significant increase: 56 % of Haifa residents rate the municipality's performance positively. This is an improvement of about 15 percentage points in just one year. Despite this, Haifa still lags behind other large cities such as Tel Aviv-Yafo (76%) and Petah Tikva (85%), where satisfaction rates are much higher.
Equal services: systemic improvement, but uneven across the board
There has also been improvement in the area of equality in the provision of services. The 2024 survey indicated a sense of gaps between the west and east neighborhoods of the city, especially in cleanliness and maintenance. In contrast, the 2025 data indicate a positive trend: 61% of residents believe that the municipality provides services equitably, compared to only 42% a decade earlier. However, the national improvement does not erase local gaps, and residents in certain neighborhoods still report a sense of inequality in the services they receive.
Requests for municipal services: stability in the number of requests, change in the quality of the experience
When it comes to applications for municipal services, the number of applications remained stable. In both 2024 and 2025, approximately 35% of Haifa residents applied for service from the municipality. However, the quality of the service they received changed. In a 2024 survey, residents reported long wait times, difficulty answering the phone, and inconsistent digital service. In contrast, the 2025 data indicate some improvement: 63% of applicants in the city were satisfied with the service they received, a figure significantly higher than the 2024 data, but still lower than the national average of 74%.
Attitude of municipal employees: Review in 2024, partial improvement in 2025
A similar trend is also evident in the area of the treatment of municipal employees. In a 2024 survey, many residents reported mediocre treatment and low availability of human response. The 2025 data indicate a certain increase in satisfaction, with 65% of applicants satisfied with the treatment they received. However, this is a decrease compared to the 2015 data, which suggests a continuing need to improve human service in the municipality.
Summary: A trend of improvement — but there is still a long way to go
Comparing the surveys reveals that Haifa is on an improvement trend between 2024 and 2025, but the improvement is still partial. The functioning of the municipality, the sense of equality and satisfaction with services have increased significantly, but daily problems such as cleanliness, public transportation, handling of hazards and disparities between neighborhoods continue to affect the quality of life in the city. In order for the systemic improvement to be translated into the field, the municipality will need to continue investing in infrastructure, services and transparency with residents.
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The mayor of Haifa is sleeping as always. It's time to go home. One example. The southern entrance to Haifa has looked like a wartime Berlin road for a good few years now. And continues to build new parking lots and huge traffic jams.
A dead city, devoid of activity and culture, Carmel Castle attracts much more young Haifa residents, a misery that gets worse over the years, there is no future for young people, the city is as old as its mayor
Everything is pretty neglected. Hadar is half dead. It's a shame it used to be better to live in Haifa😒
Nothing good has come out of Yona Yahav, she lives in Kiryat Haim and she is neglected. The water bill is significantly higher on my entire street, I pay 200 NIS more!!! And no one listens to my complaints, the number of Arabs is also increasing and immigrating to Haifa, air pollution has increased significantly and no one is doing anything!!, corrupt. Vote for someone else
Completely destroyed Bat Galim, sold it to tycoons, not to the people, not to the residents, destroyed the beauty of the place, which was simply and easily accessible, took away all the beauty....crying for generations!!!!
Property taxes in Haifa are among the highest in the country and the return is very low. The municipality takes care of the well-off areas of the city, and the less well-off areas are dirty and neglected. Neve Sha'anan looks like a dump, institutions and environmental care - at the level of Gaza. Hadar - as above. The south of the city - as above. Simply a disgrace. The municipality only serves the rich in the city. No wonder many are leaving the city.
All the best to Haifa's progress towards improvement.
Haifa is the most neglected city in Israel.
A city of underworld and glory…. Old, neglected buildings
Talpiot Market….one big trash can….old roads….for example, Neve David…a disaster
What happened to the employees of the Haifa Municipality. Their number has decreased significantly and therefore the treatments are not immediate. Those who made a significant change in the city of Haifa and German-speaking people who have received the best service from the Haifa Welfare Department received the best service because
Not only has their number not been cut, the Ministry of the Interior recently contacted the municipality with an explicit threat to conduct an investigation into salary discrepancies in the budget and dozens of employees who were hired in an unorganized manner without qualifications for the municipality.
The data is biased and does not reflect the reality on the ground. There is no enforcement by the municipal police in violent neighborhoods, and when enforcement is called, they arrive too late. The dirt on the streets and in the neighborhoods is beyond any criticism. There is no enforcement there either. Due to the high property taxes that we pay in the city, we do not receive the compensation.
In 2024 the municipality was very bad and broke down in 2025 and 2026. Such surveys are worth exactly nothing. The actual results are catastrophic.
Haifa is finally leading in everything.
It received the worst score in the country, in almost all areas surveyed.
The municipality aggressively enforces parking violations, whether necessary or not, in order to increase its revenue.
Nonsense. The city doesn't enforce parking violations enough. The sidewalks are completely blocked in a large part of the city. The police don't do their job at all in some parts of the city. Shame