In recent years, the relocation of the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox Jewish) population from Israel’s center to the country’s periphery areas has been increasing, primarily in response to surging housing prices. This study examines how this migration is related not only to economic changes, but also to mobility patterns and family decisions, with an emphasis on the link between transportation, employment, and demography. The dispersion of the Haredi population from the center to the periphery raises the question of whether a Haredi household in the periphery differs from a Haredi household in the center in its characteristics, the composition of its income and expenditures, and its fertility rate.

The study’s findings indicate that among Haredi families that change their area of residence – both from the center to the periphery and from the periphery to the center – the women are relatively more educated. It was also found that the income of young Haredi households in the periphery is lower than that of Haredi households in the center, but their housing expenditures are lower, while their transportation expenditures are higher. The average Haredi family in the periphery tends to have fewer children than the average Haredi family in the center. The fertility gap is partly related to vehicle ownership: a Haredi family with a car has fewer children than a family without a car, and in the periphery, more Haredi families own cars. In addition, an increase of 6,000 NIS in government benefits is found to be associated with one additional child in a Haredi household.

A key conclusion from this analysis is that in some respects, including fertility, the gap in various characteristics between Haredim in the periphery and the non-Haredi population is not quite as large as the one between Haredim in the centers and the general non-Haredi population.