70% tell pollsters Jersey is a good place to live
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Seven in 10 New Jersey residents rate the state as either an excellent (20 percent) or a good (50 percent) place to live, a Monmouth University poll released Monday has determined.
The 70 percent positive rating is the highest recorded since May 2003 when it stood at 72 percent, and a marked improvement over the 30-year low of 57 percent recorded in August.
In its regular tracking of New Jerseyans’ satisfaction with life in their state, the poll found that the current Garden State Quality of Life Index has jumped to +31, from +25 in February. This marks the third consecutive increase in the index and the highest score since the index debuted in December 2010 at +21.
“Upward movement in the Garden State Quality of Life Index seems to have accelerated in the past few months, with the biggest factor being more positive views of New Jersey as a whole,” Patrick Murray, the poll’s director, said.
The state evaluation contributes half of the total Garden State Quality of Life Index score. The other half is comprised of ratings of various local aspects of New Jersey life. These ratings have remained fairly steady, including positive ratings of a New Jerseyan’s town as a place to live (76 percent), the local environment (75 percent), local schools (63 percent) and neighborhood safety (64 percent).
