Israel's Average Pay Hit NIS 13,935, but Real Wages Rose Far Less

The average monthly wage for a salaried post in Israel was 13,935 shekels ($4,275) in August 2025, 5% higher than the 13,267 shekels ($4,070) recorded a year earlier, according to figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics, the government's national statistics agency. Measured at constant prices (that is, with consumer price inflation stripped out), the same average was 11,156 shekels ($3,423), a rise of 2.1% on August 2024's 10,925 shekels ($3,352).

The bureau also published flash estimates, its early and later-revised readings, for September 2025. Across all employees the average was 13,761 shekels ($4,222), up 4.3% on September 2024 (13,193 shekels, $4,048). Counted separately, Israeli employees averaged 14,073 shekels ($4,318) in September, a rise of 4.7% on the year (13,445 shekels, $4,125).

The job count moved more than the pay packet

The release put the number of salaried jobs in August 2025 at 4.088 million: 2.5% below July 2025 (4.194 million) but 1.5% above August 2024 (4.027 million). Its September flash estimate counted 4.278 million salaried jobs for all employees, 0.7% below the August figure quoted in that section (4.311 million) and 1.1% above September 2024 (4.232 million). Of those, 4.051 million were held by Israeli workers, 0.9% down on the month and 0.3% up on the year. The statement carried two different August job totals (4.088 million and 4.311 million) without reconciling them.

Why an average is not a typical salary

An average is pulled upwards by the top of the distribution, and in Israel the pull is strong. Figures from the National Insurance Institute for the first half of 2025, reported by the Jerusalem Post, put the average gross monthly wage at 15,098 shekels but the median (the point at which half of earners are above and half below) at 10,586 shekels, a gap of about 43%. The same data showed men averaging 18,441 shekels against 11,940 shekels for women.

The two institutions also count differently, which is why their headline numbers do not match. Globes noted that the institute's analysis rests on employers' actual filings rather than a survey, letting it follow an individual worker across more than one job, something a series measured per employee job does not do.

Where Israel's high salaries actually sit

Pay is concentrated in a narrow coastal band. Herzliya, just north of Tel Aviv, topped the city rankings at an average 22,951 shekels, followed by Ra'anana, Modi'in, Tel Aviv and Kfar Sava, each on about 22,400 shekels, while Modi'in Illit recorded the lowest average at 8,161 shekels, according to Globes. By industry, electricity and gas supply led on an average of 31,922 shekels; accommodation and food services, arts and entertainment, administrative support and education sat at the bottom, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The inflation wedge

The difference between the 5% cash rise and the 2.1% real one is consumer price inflation, which has since eased. Israel's annual inflation rate stood at 1.6% in June 2026, the lowest since May 2021 and inside the Bank of Israel's 1% to 3% target band, according to Trading Economics, which tracks the bureau's index. Real wage growth of the kind recorded in August 2025 is therefore easier to achieve now than it was during the war's inflationary peak.

What the release did not say

The bureau's statement gave no breakdown by industry, district or gender, and no median. It did not explain the two conflicting August job counts, nor the exchange rate used for the dollar figures quoted alongside each shekel amount. It also did not say why the number of salaried jobs fell month-on-month in both August and September while remaining above the previous year's level.