Tel Aviv is Israel's economic hub and as such is home to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and many corporate offices and research and development centres. Its beaches, cafes, upscale shopping, night life and secular lifestyle have made it a popular Middle Eastern tourist destination.

Tel Aviv is a major performing arts centre and is the most expensive city in the Middle East.

Tel Aviv emerged as a high-tech centre in the 1990s and the city currently employs forty percent of national employment in finance and 25 percent of national employment in business services. Many computer scientists live in Tel Aviv and their numbers have increased thanks to immigration from the former Soviet Union. Many international venture-capital firms, scientific research institutes and high-tech companies have their headquarters in the city.

Industries in Tel Aviv include chemical processing, textile plants and food manufacturers. Nine of the Israel’s fifteen billionaires live in Israel; four live in Tel Aviv or its suburbs.