N.J. residents consider quality of life at an all-time low

As more New Jersey residents report a decline in their quality of life, a Monmouth University polling official says politicians should take heed.

Joe Hernandez

February 25, 2019

Walking the Ocean City boardwalk. (Bill Barlow for WHYY)

A Monmouth University poll released Monday shows residents perceive their quality of life in the Garden State at an all-time low.

“The fact that this number just goes down year after year after year to a 40-year low really tells you something,” said Monmouth University polling director Patrick Murray.

The current positive rating of 50 percent is a drop from the 54 percent Monmouth counted last year and an all-time low for the question in New Jersey public polls.

A breakdown of the poll shows 11 percent of respondents said New Jersey was an “excellent” place to live; 39 percent said it was “good”; 32 percent of people considered it fair, and 17 percent called the quality of life poor.

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Murray said it constitutes a warning for the governor and lawmakers tasked with tackling the large, thorny issues facing New Jersey.

“This is a downward trend that should be very troubling to the folks in Trenton,” Murray said.

Murray said the all-time high rating for quality of life in New Jersey was in 1987 when 84 percent of people had good things to say about the state.

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