Commissioned by the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund in 2018.
The Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley was proud to be a sponsor of the community study: A Portrait of Bay Area Jewish Life and Communities, commissioned by the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund. The study is the first of its kind to look at the Jewish population across all 10 Bay Area counties, with more than 3300 people participating in the survey.
According to past JFSV CEO Jyl Jurman, “The work we do requires that we truly understand our constituents. The data collected in this study will inform the decisions we make about how best to meet the needs of our community. Key among the findings is how very diverse we are. With that comes the commitment to provide differing opportunities for engagement. Over the next several months we will work closely with the study’s research team, Professor Steven M. Cohen and Dr. Jacob B. Ukeles, as well as other leaders within the broader Bay Area Jewish community to better understand the implications of this comprehensive study.”
Here’s the Big Picture:
The Bay Area contains the fourth largest concentration of Jewish people in the U.S.
There are 148,000 Jewish households in the Bay Area, housing 350,000 Jews and 123,000 non-Jews
The number of Jews has remained relatively stable over the past 10 – 15 years
People aged 18-34 comprise 37% of this population
The Bay Area Jewish population is highly diverse
25% of Jewish households include an adult who is Hispanic, Asian-American, African-American, mixed or other racial background
10% of households include a lesbian, gay or bisexual person
66% of married couples are “inter-group” where only one spouse is Jewish
There are pockets of poverty and economic vulnerability amidst the affluence
25% of respondents state that they are barely managing or unable to make ends meet
17% believe themselves to be affluent
This is a highly educated community with 42% of respondents holding a graduate degree
This is a highly mobile community
Almost 2/5 of respondents moved into their current residence in the last five years
29% state they will definitely or are likely to move within the next two years
There is a relatively small, highly engaged and affiliated population; the majority of respondents were unaffiliated and less engaged with the Jewish community
There is less of an attachment to Israel, especially among the majority young, liberal population