According to data recently collected by the United Jewish Communities (UJC) and reported in Haaretz, the level of poverty in Jewish communities is higher in the United States than in Israel.  15 to 20 percent of US Jews are poor, according to the UJC.  In Israel, 24 percent of the general population lives under the poverty line, but approximately 50 percent of the poor are not Jewish.

Over 40 percent of poor Jews in the US are immigrants from the former Soviet Union, while approximately 27 percent belong to the hareidi-religious community.  13 percent are elderly.