Communities / draft for approval, not indexed
Living in Ra'anana
A Sharon city founded by New Yorkers in 1922: shuls, schools, neighbourhoods and the official numbers.
- 82,963
- residents, end of 2024
- 47 min
- fastest train to Tel Aviv
- ₪3,659,100
- median sold price, all homes
- 1,250
- former South African families
Ra'anana Park. Photo by אלעדבד7, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Ra'anana, in short
Suits
English-speaking families who want a long-established Anglo and South African community, a choice of state, state-religious and Haredi schools, and a direct train to Tel Aviv.
Not for
Buyers looking for a low entry price, investors buying for rental yield, or commuters who need a direct train to Jerusalem.
A 4-room home sold for a median ₪3,381,700 over the last year, new and older homes together. Train to Tel Aviv: 47 min fastest on a weekday. Train to Jerusalem: no direct train.
The numbers that decide it
8 of 10
Socio-economic cluster
Rank 226 of 255 authorities, 1 is lowest. CBS, 2021.
1.3%
Population growth in 2023
82,963 residents at the end of 2024. CBS.
₪3,659,100
Median sold price, all homes
Last 12 months, +5.6% on the year. nadlan.gov.il.
₪7,650
Median rent a month
Recorded rents, 0.0% on the year. nadlan.gov.il.
2.5%
Gross rental yield
As nadlan.gov.il computes it, before arnona, upkeep, vacancy and tax.
1,204
Homes started in 2023
610 completed the same year. CBS city profile.
What do these numbers mean for your budget?
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Kehillat Ohel Ari, one of the two Anglo shuls named above. bkohelari.org
The English-speaking community
Ra'anana was founded in 1922 by settlers from New York; Wikipedia records that local Arabs called it Little America because most of its residents were English speakers. Nefesh B'Nefesh today describes a largely English-speaking population and thousands of its olim, and lists Ra'anana among the five places with the most English-speaking olim students in Israel.
In a 2011 post, updated 2019, a real estate writer described two flourishing Anglo synagogues: Kehillat Ohel Ari, which houses a kollel, and Kehillat Shivtei Yisrael, with a large British and South African constituency. Torah MiTzion called Shivtei Yisrael an Anglo community in 2019, with most members olim and a rabbi who was formerly a Torah MiTzion emissary in Cape Town. The Masorti congregation Amitai was formed when a congregation of mainly English-speaking olim merged with a Spanish-speaking one; Hebrew is now its common language.
South Africans are a large group: in January 2024 the South African Jewish Report wrote that the city has 1,250 former South African families, according to Telfed, which has its offices in Ra'anana. Nefesh B'Nefesh lists an Anglo olim coordinator at the municipality, and the Ministry of Aliyah lists an English-speaking coordinator for the city.
1,369
olim from the US
397
from the UK
8,654
olim in total
Settling in Ra'anana, 2014 to 2023. Canada, South Africa and Australia are not counted separately, and the figures stop before most of the recent growth.
Source: Ministry of Aliyah, 2014 to 2023
Where this section comes from (16 sources)
- bkohelari.org, undated, accessed 2026-10-14
- myisraelhome.com/post/ra-anana-and-shalom-bayit, 14 Apr 2011, updated 31 Jan 2019
- torahmitzion.org/training-shabbat-shivtei-yisrael-community-raanana, 17 Jun 2019
- gokosher.com/en/u88526, undated, accessed 2026-10-14
- kbyonline.org/synagogues/raanana-masorti-congregation, undated, accessed 2026-10-14
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%27anana, accessed 2026-10-14
- nbn.org.il/life-in-israel/community-and-housing/community-guide/raanana, updated 24 Mar 2026
- nbn.org.il/life-in-israel/education/child-and-teen/finding-schools-for-your-children-an-introduction, updated 6 Oct 2026
- data.gov.il/api/3/action/datastore_search?resource_id=52ddda08-3205-40ee-bc37-bf203a1cf0b2, dataset updated 2026-10-04
- telfed.org.il/contact-us, accessed 2026-10-14 (Playwright)
- esra.org.il/contact-us, accessed 2026-10-14
- esra.org.il/secondhand-shops, accessed 2026-10-14
- sajr.co.za/raanana-terror-attacks-leave-community-united-but-shaken, 18 Jan 2024
- jpost.com/aliyah/article-908049, 9 Sep 2026
- jpost.com/opinion/article-885681, 8 Feb 2026
- englishinisrael.com/libraries.html, undated, accessed 2026-10-14
Ra'anana
Ahuza Street and the homes either side of it, March 2015. Photo by Lev.Tsimbler, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where people live
North and south
Nefesh B'Nefesh writes that the religious community generally lives on the north side of the city and the secular community on the southern side.
Around the Ariel, Bilu and Yavne schools
The areas olim choose most, according to Nefesh B'Nefesh.
Who lives here
Wikipedia describes a secular majority and a sizeable religious community, mainly Modern Orthodox, many of them immigrants from the US, UK, South Africa and France. A real estate writer put the religious share at about 30%, mostly Religious Zionist with a smaller Yeshivish community, in a 2011 post updated 2019.
Source: Wikipedia · accessed 14 Oct 2026
61.3%
of households own their home
32.9%
rent
39
median age
2.8
people per household
11.2%
born in the Americas
56.5%
work outside the city
Schools
36 active schools in Ra'anana, by stream
5 Haredi
25 State
6 State religious
English-speaking pupils
Nefesh B'Nefesh lists Ra'anana among the five places with the most English-speaking olim students. We found no official source naming which schools take most of them, so ask the schools and the municipal absorption department.
Getting around
Direct trains from רעננה דרום station, 2.1 km in a straight line from the city's centre point, on one weekday of the current timetable.
To Tel Aviv HaHagana
47min
fastest; median 47 min, 54 direct trains a weekday
To Tel Aviv Savidor
38min
fastest; median 39 min, 55 direct trains a weekday
To Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon
None
no direct train, a change is needed
Two stations, Tel Aviv only
The minutes above are from Ra'anana South. The city's other station, Ra'anana West, is a few minutes slower to both Tel Aviv stations, and neither has a direct train to Jerusalem.
Hospital
There is no hospital in Ra'anana; Meir Medical Center is in nearby Kfar Saba. Nefesh B'Nefesh notes that every kupat cholim is represented in the city.
What homes sold and rented for
Recorded deals from the Tax Authority, last 12 months. They mix new apartments and older homes, so they are neither the new-build price nor the resale price.
Sold, median price
- 3 rooms₪2,888,900
+0.8% on the year
- 4 rooms₪3,381,700
-0.4% on the year
- 5 rooms₪4,375,100
+2.6% on the year
Latest quarter (to Mar 2026): ₪3,567,200 here against ₪2,058,800 nationally.
Rented, median a month
- 3 rooms₪5,800
-3.3% on the year
- 4 rooms₪6,950
-2.8% on the year
- 5 rooms₪8,600
+3.0% on the year
The CBS rent survey, a different series, puts average free-market rent at ₪5,474 a month (Q2 2026) for the Central District as a whole; Ra'anana has no row of its own.
What else is being built
1,204
homes started in 2023
610 completed. CBS.
27
state land tenders since 2000
4 opened since 2023. Israel Land Authority.
10
Dira BeHanacha lotteries
Latest 15 Dec 2019: 20 homes, 495 applicants.
Land offered to developers right now (1)
A tender is land, not homes: anything built on it is years away.
Running costs and safety
Arnona, average billed
₪54.3
per square metre a year, 2023. The city’s total residential billing over billed area, not your street’s tariff.
Source: CBS city profile, 2023
Bank of Israel rate
3.25%
The base for mortgage pricing, not a mortgage rate.
Source: Bank of Israel, 13 Oct 2026
Siren warning time
90seconds
to reach a protected space. New buildings must have one: usually a safe room in the apartment (mamad), in some a shared one per floor (mamak). Ask which.
Source: Home Front Command, 14 Oct 2026
The downsides
Prices well above the national median
In the quarter ending Mar 2026 the median sold home in Ra'anana went for ₪3,567,200, against ₪2,058,800 nationally. A 4-room home's median over the last 12 months was ₪3,381,700.
Source: nadlan.gov.il
High rents
In the quarter ending Jun 2026 the median recorded rent in Ra'anana was ₪7,800 a month, against ₪5,125 nationally.
Source: nadlan.gov.il
Low rental yield
nadlan.gov.il computes a gross rental yield of 2.5% for Ra'anana, before arnona, maintenance, vacancy and tax.
Source: nadlan.gov.il
No direct train to Jerusalem
The timetable has no direct train from either Ra'anana station to Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon (Ministry of Transport, 14 Oct 2026).
Source: Ministry of Transport GTFS
No current count of English speakers
The only figure we found is a real estate writer's 30% of residents, from 2011 (post updated 2019). Wikipedia puts immigrants of all origins at about 22%. Of the 8,654 olim who settled here from 2014 to 2023, 2,447 came from France and 1,766 from the US and UK together.
Who should pick Ra'anana, and who should not
Pick it if you are
- Families who want an Orthodox shul with many English-speaking members.
- South African families: Telfed is based here.
- Families choosing between state, state-religious and Haredi schools.
- Households where one partner commutes to Tel Aviv by train.
Look elsewhere if you are
- Buyers on a tight budget.
- Investors buying for rental income.
- Anyone who needs a daily train to Jerusalem.
Questions about Ra'anana
Is Ra'anana good for English speakers?
Nefesh B'Nefesh describes a largely English-speaking population in Ra'anana and lists it among the five places with the most English-speaking olim students. The Ministry of Aliyah counts 1,369 olim from the US and 397 from the UK settling in the city from 2014 to 2023; South Africans, a large group here, are not counted separately in that data.
Where do English speakers live in Ra'anana?
Nefesh B'Nefesh says the areas around the Ariel, Bilu and Yavne schools are the most popular with olim, and that the religious community generally lives in the north of the city and the secular community in the south.
Is there an English-speaking shul in Ra'anana?
Kehillat Ohel Ari and Kehillat Shivtei Yisrael have both been described as Anglo synagogues; Torah MiTzion called Shivtei Yisrael an Anglo community in 2019. The Masorti congregation Amitai grew partly out of a congregation of English-speaking olim, and Hebrew is now its common language.
Source: Torah MiTzion · 17 Jun 2019
Is there a South African community in Ra'anana?
Yes. The South African Jewish Report wrote in January 2024 that Ra'anana has 1,250 former South African families, according to Telfed, the South African Zionist Federation in Israel, which has its offices in the city.
Source: SA Jewish Report · 18 Jan 2024
How much does an apartment cost in Ra'anana?
The median recorded sale of a 4-room home in Ra'anana over the last 12 months was ₪3,381,700, new and older homes together (nadlan.gov.il, 20 Aug 2026).
Source: nadlan.gov.il
How much is rent in Ra'anana?
The median recorded rent over the last 12 months was ₪7,650 a month for all homes and ₪6,950 for 4 rooms (nadlan.gov.il, 20 Aug 2026).
Source: nadlan.gov.il
How long is the train from Ra'anana to Tel Aviv?
On a weekday the fastest direct train from Ra'anana South takes 38 minutes to Tel Aviv Savidor and 47 minutes to HaHagana (55 direct trains to Savidor that day), per the Ministry of Transport timetable fetched 14 Oct 2026. There is no direct train to Jerusalem.
Source: Ministry of Transport GTFS
How long do you have to reach a shelter in Ra'anana?
90 seconds from the siren, according to the Home Front Command.
Source: Home Front Command · 14 Oct 2026
Thinking about Ra'anana?
Send us your budget and the size you need. We reply with what is on offer, new-build and resale kept apart.
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Sources and method
- CBS Localities File 2024, 31 Dec 2024
- CBS Census 2022, data.gov.il, 31 Dec 2022
- Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, olim by receiving locality (new-olim-by-cities), data.gov.il, 2014 to 2023
- Ministry of Education institutions (mosdot_edu), data.gov.il, 14 Oct 2026
- Ministry of Construction and Housing, Dira BeHanacha lotteries (mechir-lamishtaken), data.gov.il, 15 Dec 2019
- Home Front Command alert areas (districts_heb.json), 14 Oct 2026
- Bank of Israel interest rate (SDMX BR), 13 Oct 2026
- CBS, Local Authorities in Israel 2023, authority profile (publication 1987), 31 Dec 2023; 2023; 2022; Jun 2024; 2021
- CBS, Characterization and Classification of Geographical Units by Socio-Economic Level, 2021, table 2, 2021
- CBS Price Statistics Monthly, table 4.9, average free-market rent, Q2 2026
- Ministry of Transport GTFS, Israel Railways (agency 2), 14 Oct 2026
- nadlan.gov.il (Tax Authority deal records), site's own summary, 20 Aug 2026
- Israel Land Authority tenders (michrazim), 14 Oct 2026
Official figures fetched 14 Oct 2026. Each date is the period the source covers, or for live lists (schools, tenders, timetable, warning times) the day we fetched it. Page written 14 Oct 2026.