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City	Jerusalem	Ramat Beit Shemesh / Beit Shemesh	Ma'ale Adumim
Region	Jerusalem area	Jerusalem area	Jerusalem area
Population	1,050,1532024 estimatesource ((opens in a new tab))	176,7862024 estimatesource ((opens in a new tab))	35,8462024 estimatesource ((opens in a new tab))
English-speaking community	Very large (5 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))	Very large (5 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))	Small (2 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))
French-speaking community	Medium (3 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))	Small (2 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))	Unknownsource ((opens in a new tab))
Russian-speaking community	Small (2 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))	Small (2 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))	Unknownsource ((opens in a new tab))
Religious mix	Mixed, leaning religiousMixed, leaning religious. Only 18% of Jewish residents are secular and Haredim are 35% of the adult Jewish population; Arab residents make up about 37% of the population.source ((opens in a new tab))	Mostly religiousMostly Orthodox and Haredi, with a Dati Leumi (religious Zionist) minority. Haredim were 40% of the population in 2011, and 60% of voters chose Haredi parties in 2022. RBS Aleph is mixed Orthodox; RBS Bet and Daled are mainly Haredi.source ((opens in a new tab))	Mostly secularMostly secular as of 2004 ('over 70 percent of the residents were secular'); no newer breakdown found.source ((opens in a new tab))
Rent (family-size apartment)	NIS 6,180 – 7,748 a monthCBS averages, Apr-Jun 2026 (3.5-4 rooms to 4.5+ rooms)source ((opens in a new tab))	NIS 4,993 – 6,810 a monthCBS averages, Apr-Jun 2026 (3.5-4 rooms to 4.5+ rooms)source ((opens in a new tab))	No reliable figure found
To Tel Aviv	About 41 min to Tel Aviv by trainAbout 41 min by train from Yitzhak Navon to Tel Aviv Center, or about 48 min by bus (Rome2rio estimates).source ((opens in a new tab))	About 50 min to Tel Aviv by trainAbout 50 min by train from Beit Shemesh station to Tel Aviv Center, or about 52 min by bus 412 (Rome2rio estimates).source 1 ((opens in a new tab))source 2 ((opens in a new tab))source 3 ((opens in a new tab))	About 1 h 8 min to Tel Aviv by busAbout 1 h 8 min by bus 481, or about 1 h 19 min by bus to Jerusalem and train (Rome2rio estimates).source 1 ((opens in a new tab))source 2 ((opens in a new tab))source 3 ((opens in a new tab))
To Jerusalem	You would live in the city itself	About 28 min to Jerusalem by busAbout 28 min by bus 615, or about 29 min by car; no train to Jerusalem at present (Rome2rio estimates; Wikipedia).source 1 ((opens in a new tab))source 2 ((opens in a new tab))source 3 ((opens in a new tab))	About 20 min to Jerusalem by busAbout 20 min by bus 174 (Rome2rio estimate); NBN also says 'only 20 minutes from downtown Jerusalem.'source 1 ((opens in a new tab))source 2 ((opens in a new tab))source 3 ((opens in a new tab))
Train station	Yes	Yes	No
Light rail	Yes	No	No
For families	High (4 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))	Very high (5 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))	High (4 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))
Quiet	Fairly low (2 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))	Medium (3 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))	High (4 out of 5)· judgment callsource ((opens in a new tab))
Location note			Ma'ale Adumim is in the West Bank, 7 km east of Jerusalem along Highway 1.
City site	Jerusalem Local ((opens in a new tab))	Ramat Beit Shemesh / Beit Shemesh Local ((opens in a new tab))	Ma'ale Adumim Local ((opens in a new tab))