December 21, 2006 - New York – A new American Jewish Year Book survey estimates that there are 6.4 million Jews in the United States. The survey, published by the American Jewish Committee and conducted by Professor Ira Sheskin of the University of Miami and Professor Arnold Dashefsky of the University of Connecticut, is based on a tally of individual Jewish communities across the country.

Significantly higher than the figure of 5.2 million provided by the 2000–01 National Jewish Population Survey, this estimate also indicates that American Jewry remains the largest Jewish community in the world, surpassing the Jewish population of Israel.

Data on the various communities were derived, where available, from studies that have been conducted in those communities, many through scientific methods such as random digit dialing (RDD) telephone surveys. In communities where no scientific study has been completed, information was culled from the mailing lists of local federations (with the help of United Jewish Communities, the umbrella organization of the federations) and other local Jewish organizations and synagogues. The population tables accompanying the article clearly identify the source of the numbers given for each community. To ensure greater accuracy, the survey instituted a new category of “part-time” residents. This was designed to eliminate “double counting,” which often occurred when Jewish retirees or students were counted in the total of their home communities as well as in secondary communities where they lived part of the year.   

Sheskin and Dashefsky are careful to note that because population estimates are not an “exact science,” changes in population did not necessarily occur in just the last few years.  “Rather,” the survey concludes, “it most likely occurred over a long period of time, but has only recently been substantiated.”

According to the survey, about 2.2 percent of Americans are Jewish. New York has the largest Jewish population of any state, at 1,618,000, followed by California (1,194,000), Florida (653,000), and New Jersey (480,000). These four states account for more than 60 percent of the entire national Jewish estimate. Regionally, 44 percent of Jews live in the Northeast; 11 percent live in the Midwest; 22 percent live in the South; and 24 percent live in the West.

San Francisco, California, showed the largest single reported growth nationally among Jewish communities, increasing from 107,900 in 2001 to 227,800 in 2006. According to a demographic survey of the area conducted by Bruce Phillips of Hebrew Union College, Jews now represent about 10 percent of the general population.

Other areas showing growth of 80,000 or more were Atlanta, Georgia (33,900 to 119,800); San Diego, California (19,000 to 89,000); Montgomery and Price Georges County, Maryland (16,500 to 121,000); and South Palm Beach Florida (14,500 to 107,500).  In reporting 24,000 fewer people than in 2001, Detroit, Michigan, showed the largest single decrease nationally; Miami, Florida, followed with a decrease of 11,700.