Most Israelis who left Jerusalem in 2014 moved to nearby cities, as did many of those who left Tel Aviv, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics this week showed.

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CBS data showed that Jerusalem's migration balance stood in 2014 at minus 6,740 people, because while 10,351 people moved into the city, 17,091 left it.

Most of those who left the capital (14,128 people) moved to other cities, while only 2,963 moved to the countryside. Among them, 1,464 moved to the nearby Beit Shemesh; 797 to the settlement of Givat Ze'ev, which is only about 5 kilometers away from the holy city; 787 moved to the settlement of Beitar Illit, 10 kilometers away from Jerusalem; 685 moved to Mevaseret Zion, a suburb of the capital; 228 moved to Geva Binyamin, also 5 kilometers away; and 212 moved to Tzur Hadassah.

Jerusalemites that moved further away preferred Tel Aviv, with 1,454 relocating to the white city, while 658 moved to Bnei Brak, 369 to Haifa, 345 to Ramat Gan, 297 to Netanya, 292 to Petah Tikva, 257 to Ashdod, 236 to Rishon Lezion.

Moving from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv itself also suffered from a negative balance, as 21,449 people left it, while only 20,519 moved there. Former Tel Avivians were not willing to go too far from central Israel, with neighboring Ramat Gan taking in 2,107 people, Holon getting 1,289 people, neighboring Givatayim getting 1,222 new residents, Petah Tikva 1,120, and Bat Yam not far behind with 1,107 of the former Tel Aviv residents.

While many of the Jerusalemites moved to Tel Aviv, not many took the opposite direction with only 445 Tel Avivians moving to the capital. Hundreds of Tel Aviv residents moved further away from the city, with 891 moving to Rishon LeZion and 665 to Kfar Saba.

One of the biggest cities in the north, Haifa, was also left with a negative balance at the end of 2014, with 8,855 of its residents leaving. Out of that, 952 went to the countryside, while 7,903 moved to other cities. Most of those people moved to the nearby Krayot: Kiryat Motzkin (537), Kiryat Yam (500), Kiryat Ata (450), and Kiryat Bialik (431).

Tel Aviv, meanwhile, received 851 of Haifa's residents, while Ramat Gan welcomed only 200 former Haifa residents. Rishon Lezion got 109 people, Givatayim got 100, and Eilat got 160 people.

Down south, Be'er Sheva lost 5,057 of its residents, with most (4,179) moving to other cities and only 878 moving to the countryside. Once again Tel Aviv took in many of the movers - 321 people. Jerusalem took in 159, Rishon got 145 and Haifa got 100 residents.

Ashdod, another large southern city, with 1,019 of its residents moving to Ashkelon, 518 to the nearby Gan Yavne, 335 to Tel Aviv, and 82 to Haifa.