2026 Orange County
Jewish Demography Study

This website is the virtual home of the OC Jewish Demography Study, housing the full research report, a community perspectives report with topic-specific guides, interactive data tables, FAQs, and related resources.

According to the Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University, “local Jewish community studies are designed to help local Jewish agencies learn about the demographics of their communities; community members’ interest in services, affiliations with Jewish organizations, behaviors and attitudes; and a host of other topics that inform communal planning. The results of such studies help local Jewish organizations make informed, data-driven decisions about programming, resource allocation, goals and the impact of their efforts.”

No, this is the first comprehensive study.

• The results of a community study are typically useful for about ten years (similar to the Census). It is important to remember that a community study is only a snapshot in time of a dynamic place and population.
• Because this is Orange County’s first Jewish community study, it establishes a starting point for understanding who our community is today. Future studies can measure change over time, helping organizations understand where progress has occurred, where needs have shifted, and where additional attention may be needed.

• The study team created multiple ways to explore the survey data to allow readers to engage with the results at the level of detail and insight that best meets their needs.
• The Orange County Jewish Demographic Study: Full Report is the complete research report prepared by the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS) at Brandeis University. It includes the full survey methodology, survey design, technical analysis, and detailed findings. 
• Perspectives on the Orange County Jewish Community interprets and synthesizes the research into major themes, helping readers understand what the findings may mean for our community. 
  • It’s also organized into short topic-specific guides (“mini reports”)—Overview, Daily Life, Jewish Life, and Hot Topics—that highlight different sections of the Perspectives report, allowing readers to explore individual topics without reading the full report.

• Both of the reports draw from the same underlying study and survey results, but they are organized differently and emphasize different insights. As a result, some findings appear in one report and not the other.
• Perspectives on the OC Jewish Community intentionally focuses on areas of alignment across our diverse community. The Samueli Foundation hopes the community will use this as a resource to build toward both an understanding agenda and an action agenda: a shared grasp of what is known about the community today and a clearer sense of how that knowledge might inform planning, programming, learning, and collaboration.

The best place to start depends on what you’re looking for:

• • If you’re interested in the technical details of the study or want to explore the full data, the Orange County Jewish Demographic Study: Full Report is the document to read.
  • If you’re interested in the big picture and what the findings mean for the community, start with Perspectives on the Orange County Jewish Community. It synthesizes the research into major themes and explores implications for the future.
  • If you’re interested in a specific topic, read one of the Perspectives mini reports on Overview & Demographics, Daily Life, Jewish Life, or Hot Topics. Each topic-specific mini report stands on its own while also contributing to the broader story presented in the full Perspectives report.

Together, these publications provide complementary ways to explore the same study. If questions arise while reading one, try referring to another.

At first, the amount of data may feel overwhelming. That’s ok. Readers are encouraged to take their time. Read the reports section by section. Scribble down notes, questions, curiosities, and interests. And then, seek out others—through Jewish community organizations, through your hobbies, or through your friends and family—that you can connect with to talk about what you read. If you have questions about the study or process, submit them using the form at the bottom of the page.

• The study is a snapshot in time. It helps us understand the community at a particular moment, while recognizing that people, needs, and circumstances continue to change.
• Look for patterns, not just individual data points. Try not to fixate on a single statistic. Instead, look across several findings and ask: What story is emerging? What do I see in the data that makes me think that? What additional context might help me understand it? The goal is not to collect trivia, but to develop insights that can inform reflection, conversation, and action.
• Start with a question. A useful way to approach the reports is to begin with a question or problem that you care about. Then refer to the study to identify relevant data, findings, and insights that can help you think more clearly about that issue. 
• Stay curious and constructive. Some findings may be affirming; others may be surprising or even concerning. When you encounter something difficult, try not to jump to blame or reach the conclusion that the data is “wrong.” Instead, ask what it might teach the community and what the community can do—individually and collectively—to strengthen Jewish life in Orange County.

In our view, there isn’t a single answer to this question—and that’s intentional. The purpose of this study is not to tell the Orange County Jewish community what the “most important” findings are. Any list of “top insights” would inevitably reflect the perspectives and priorities of the people who created it. Instead, the Samueli Foundation wants this study to be a resource that different people can interpret through the lens of their own experiences, questions, and responsibilities. The most valuable insight is the one that helps you better understand our community—and inspires thoughtful conversation or action.

Throughout the Perspectives reports, we’ve highlighted patterns, connections, and questions that emerged from the data to help readers make sense of the findings. These are intended to provide context, not definitive conclusions. You are encouraged to read the reports with your own questions in mind, discuss them with others, and consider what feels most meaningful for you, your organization, or your community network.

The Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University, who conducted the Orange County demographic study, has completed numerous other Jewish community studies throughout the United States. The design of a community study is unique to the desires and needs of a specific community and is not a “cookie cutter” process. As a result, questions and the interpretation of data will differ between community studies. The OC reports include this comparison data where appropriate, but you are welcome to take a closer look at the other community studies conducted by the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at: https://www.brandeis.edu/cmjs/community-studies/library.html 

• Across conversations with Jewish communal and lay leaders in Orange County, a common theme emerged: everyone is interested in working to protect and strengthen Jewish life in the County, but no one had strong, accurate, or current data to use about the size, characteristics, locations, or current needs of the Jewish community.
• A community built off intuition alone risks misplacing its finite resources (both time and money), all the while missing opportunities to invest in efforts that would mean the most to the community as it exists today. 
• A demographic study would provide Orange County with vital information that allows for more strategic decision-making, responsive resource allocation, creative program development, and cross-organization collaboration.

• Give the widest set of Orange County Jewish community members an opportunity to reflect on their needs, practices, and opinions on existing Jewish community resources and the issues that most impact their lives.
• Provide the entire community, and those who support it, with evidence driven by the community itself. This in turn would ensure all Orange County Jewish service and religious organizations are operating from the same, data-driven, actionable understanding of our entire community.
• Demonstrate a new model for community collaboration by working in broad partnership across Orange County Jewish organizations.
• Inform future philanthropic giving in response to community-driven insight.
• Give the community knowledge and tools to proactively design its future.

The study has been a multi-year effort including many partners and stakeholders:

• • Researchers at The Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS) at Brandeis University conducted the study, in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, an innovative independent research organization. CMJS is a renowned research institute dedicated to the study of American Jewish life and religious and cultural identity. Over the past decade, CMJS has worked with more than thirty Jewish communities like ours to develop local community studies, using its cutting-edge methodology to illustrate the characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors unique to each place.
  • A 6-person Steering Committee helped shape and design the survey.
  • 30+ local organizations supported the rollout, ensuring broad participation in the study.
  • More than 223,000 households in Orange County received invitations to take part in the main survey.
  • Between November 2024 and March 2025, more than 1,300 community members participated, sharing their experiences and perspectives.
  • The Samueli Foundation commissioned and funded the study.

• This report is based on data collected from 1,328 eligible Jewish households in Orange County between November 2024 and March 2025.
• To ensure the study reflected the full diversity of the Orange County Jewish community, researchers used several methods to reach households. Invitations were sent to households identified through both Jewish organizational lists and a large random sample of Orange County addresses, including households with no known connection to Jewish organizations. More than 223,000 households in Orange County received invitations to participate by mail, email, and telephone, with the option to complete the survey online or by phone. In addition, an open-access survey allowed people who had not received a direct invitation to participate. 

Like most large-scale demographic studies, this research relies on a representative sample rather than surveying every household in the community. Researchers then use well-established statistical methods—including a process called “weighting”—to help ensure the findings accurately reflect the broader Orange County Jewish population.  

• Weighting is a standard statistical technique that estimates the characteristics and experiences of the broader population based on the sample of respondents. Each completed survey is assigned a “weight” that reflects how many households it represents in the community based on known benchmarks. These weights help adjust the survey results to account for differences in who responded to the survey, ensuring all groups are appropriately represented in the final results.
• The weighting process for this study incorporates information from several trusted sources, including the American Community Survey, the American Jewish Population Project, and local enrollment and membership data from Jewish organizations and programs. 
• While no survey is perfect, these methods help reduce bias and improve the accuracy of the study’s findings. If you have further questions on the survey methods, weighting, and analysis, detailed technical appendices are available on the Brandeis website.

• Individuals, organizations, and the broader community can use these findings as a tool to support several goals, including:
  • Understanding your community 
  • Identifying needs and programming or service opportunities 
  • Building relationships
  • Informing decision-making regarding resource allocation and priorities
  • Promoting inclusion and community
  • Promoting personal growth and learning
  • Contributing to positive change
• Ultimately, this study is intended to help the Orange County Jewish community make thoughtful, informed decisions. By providing a shared understanding of our community’s strengths, needs, and opportunities, the findings can guide planning, strengthen collaboration, and support a vibrant, inclusive Jewish future.

This isn’t just a report to read once—it’s a community resource intended to support future conversations, planning, and collaboration.

If you have any additional questions about the Orange County Jewish Demography Study, please submit them using the form at the bottom of the page.