Quality of life slipping in N.J., residents tell pollsters

A New Monmouth University poll finds fewer New Jersey residents are satisfied with their quality of life in the Garden State.

 

The Quality of Life Index has dropped to the lowest in four years. The latest poll found 61 percent of New Jersey residents surveyed rate the state as an excellent or good place to live, down from 64 percent in April.

The biggest declines are among younger adults and people who live in more rural areas of the state, said poll director Patrick Murray.

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“People who felt very, very safe in these rural areas are now seeing things happen there that used to happen in the more developed suburbs,” he said. “And it’s that perception issue that’s driving the quality of life.”

Murray also detected slight declines in evaluations of local environmental quality, public schools, and hometowns as a good place to live.

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