The average starting salary of young IDF personnel rose 17% in two years, reaching 13,845 shekels a month in 2024 compared with 11,786 shekels in 2022, according to a new Finance Ministry report on pay across the defense establishment.
The report, published by the ministry’s Wage and Labor Agreements Division, covers 2023 and 2024. Many of the figures refer to the period before the October 7 attack and the early months of the war, but the report also reflects some of the impact of wartime wage agreements and changes in staffing across the security services.
(Photo: Yoav Zitun)
Employees in affiliated defense agencies, including bodies such as the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, topped the salary table with an average gross monthly wage of 34,315 shekels. Employees of the Mossad and Shin Bet averaged 32,225 shekels, while workers at the Israel Institute for Biological Research earned an average of 31,932 shekels.
Civilian IDF employees earned an average of 22,926 shekels a month, while the overall average wage across the IDF reached 18,756 shekels in 2024.
Average monthly pay in the Israel Police stood at 20,562 shekels, while employees of the Israel Prison Service earned 18,889 shekels.
Significant salary increases were introduced for police and prison service employees from mid-2024, meaning their full effect is expected to appear in the 2025 defense salary report.
More civilian workers, younger workforce
The report also found a significant increase in the number of civilian IDF employees during the war. Their ranks grew from about 6,600 in 2021 to 8,000 in 2024, with much of the expansion concentrated in intelligence, cyber and technology positions.
That hiring shift also lowered the average age of civilian IDF employees from 50 in 2021 to 44 in 2024.
Their average pay rose from 21,800 shekels in 2021 to 25,700 shekels in 2024, driven in part by a wage agreement signed in 2024 and by increased overtime during the war.
The report also highlights the long-term cost of military pensions. The average lifetime value of a budget-funded pension for an IDF officer stands at about 9 million shekels. The average retirement age is 45, with an average monthly pension of 20,019 shekels.
Gender pay gap widens
Women continued to increase their representation across the security establishment, accounting for about one-third of career IDF personnel and 41.2% of employees at the Israel Institute for Biological Research.
Despite that increase, the gender pay gap widened slightly in 2024. The report attributed much of the difference to bonuses linked to operational activity and combat service, which are more commonly paid in field positions where men remain heavily overrepresented.
At the top of the pay scale, an IDF major general earned an average gross monthly salary of 73,099 shekels in 2024. A police major general earned 66,084 shekels, while the equivalent senior rank in the Israel Prison Service earned 62,946 shekels.