In its regular tracking of New Jerseyans’ satisfaction with life in their state, the Monmouth University 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,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.
Currently, 7-in-10 residents rate the state of New Jersey as either an excellent (20%) or good (50%) place to live. This 70% positive rating is the highest recorded since May 2003 when it stood at 72%, and a marked improvement over the 30-year low of 57% recorded less than one year ago in August 2011.
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 one’s town as a place to live (76%), the local environment (75%), local schools (63%) and neighborhood safety (64%).
Compared to February, the Garden State Quality of Life Index has seen significant increases among New Jersey men – from +20 two months ago to +33 now. The score among state women was more stable – from +30 to +28 now.
The index score among older residents also jumped. New Jerseyans age 55 and over now score +37 on the index – up from +26 in February – and give higher ratings than those age 35 to 54 (+30) or 18 to 34 (+25). The Garden State Quality of Life Index score among urban residents nearly doubled from +11 in February to +20 now, but still trails the score of suburban residents (+36).
The Garden State Quality of Life Index was created by the Monmouth University Polling Institute to serve as a resident-based indicator of the quality of life offered by the state of New Jersey. The index is based on five separate poll questions: overall opinion of the state as a place to live – which contributes half the index score – and ratings of one’s hometown, the performance of local schools, the quality of the local environment, and feelings of safety in one’s own neighborhood. The index can potentially range from -100 to +100.
| GARDEN STATE QUALITY OF LIFE INDEX | |||||||||||
| NJ TOTAL | GENDER | AGE | RACE | INCOME | |||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | White | Black/ Hispanic | <$50K | $50-100K | >$100K | ||
| April 2012 | +31 | +33 | +28 | +25 | +30 | +37 | +36 | +19 | +24 | +28 | +42 |
| February 2012 | +25 | +20 | +30 | +25 | +24 | +26 | +29 | +13 | +17 | +23 | +38 |
| October 2011 | +24 | +24 | +24 | +23 | +21 | +29 | +31 | +7 | +15 | +25 | +31 |
| August 2011 | +22 | +25 | +19 | +27 | +19 | +21 | +26 | +9 | +9 | +22 | +32 |
| May 2011 | +23 | +24 | +22 | +23 | +22 | +23 | +26 | +14 | +15 | +22 | +32 |
| December 2010 | +21 | +20 | +23 | +23 | +20 | +23 | +26 | +13 | +15 | +21 | +31 |
| GARDEN STATE QUALITY OF LIFE INDEX | ||||||||||
| REGION | COMMUNITY TYPE | |||||||||
| North east | Urban Core | Route 1 Corridor | Central Hills | Northern Shore | Delaware Valley | Garden Core | Urban | Stable Town | Growing Suburb | |
| April 2012 | +38 | +26 | +27 | +44 | +34 | +22 | +28 | +20 | +35 | +36 |
| February 2012 | +33 | +17 | +27 | +35 | +29 | +19 | +22 | +11 | +31 | +29 |
| October 2011 | +31 | +6 | +22 | +45 | +35 | +18 | +23 | -1 | +31 | +34 |
| August 2011 | +24 | +16 | +21 | +38 | +27 | +26 | +6 | +4 | +29 | +25 |
| May 2011 | +28 | +17 | +16 | +41 | +29 | +22 | +20 | +6 | +29 | +28 |
| December 2010 | +26 | +15 | +22 | +38 | +23 | +14 | +17 | +12 | +23 | +27 |
The latest Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone with 804 New Jersey adults from April 11 to 15, 2012. This sample has a margin of error of ± 3.5 percent. The poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, New Jersey.
DATA TABLES
The questions referred to in this release are as follows:
(* Some rows may not add to 100% due to rounding.)
1. Overall, how would you rate New Jersey as a place to live – excellent, good, only fair, or poor?
| TREND: |
Excellent/ | Excellent | Good | Only Fair | Poor | (VOL) Don’t know |
(n) |
| April 2012 | 70% | 20% | 50% | 23% | 7% | 0% | (804) |
| February 2012 | 62% | 15% | 47% | 26% | 11% | 1% | (803) |
| October 2011 | 67% | 15% | 52% | 24% | 8% | 0% | (817) |
| August 2011 | 57% | 14% | 43% | 31% | 11% | 1% | (802) |
| May 2011 | 59% | 14% | 45% | 29% | 11% | 0% | (807) |
| December 2010 | 63% | 17% | 46% | 26% | 10% | 1% | (2864) |
| October 2007 | 63% | 17% | 46% | 25% | 12% | 1% | (1001) |
| August 2004 | 68% | 22% | 46% | 21% | 10% | 1% | (800) |
| May 2003 | 72% | 20% | 52% | 23% | 5% | 0% | (1002) |
| April 2001 | 76% | 23% | 53% | 19% | 4% | 1% | (802) |
| March 2000 | 76% | 25% | 51% | 17% | 6% | 0% | (800) |
| May 1999 | 76% | 22% | 54% | 19% | 5% | 0% | (800) |
| February 1994 | 71% | 18% | 53% | 22% | 7% | 0% | (801) |
| March 1990 | 68% | 21% | 47% | 25% | 6% | 1% | (800) |
| February 1988 | 78% | 27% | 51% | 17% | 4% | 1% | (800) |
| February 1987 | 84% | 31% | 53% | 11% | 4% | 0% | (800) |
| May 1985 | 81% | 29% | 52% | 14% | 3% | 1% | (500) |
| October 1984 | 80% | 29% | 51% | 15% | 4% | 1% | (1000) |
| January 1981 | 66% | 16% | 50% | 26% | 7% | 1% | (1003) |
| July 1980 | 68% | 18% | 50% | 23% | 7% | 2% | (1005) |
2. How would you rate your town or city as a place to live – excellent, good, only fair, or poor?
| TREND: |
Excellent/ | Excellent | Good | Only Fair | Poor | (VOL) Don’t know |
(n) |
| April 2012 | 76% | 34% | 42% | 17% | 7% | 0% | (804) |
| February 2012 | 74% | 33% | 41% | 21% | 5% | 0% | (803) |
| October 2011 | 73% | 26% | 47% | 20% | 8% | 0% | (817) |
| August 2011 | 76% | 28% | 48% | 18% | 6% | 0% | (802) |
| May 2011 | 73% | 33% | 40% | 20% | 7% | 0% | (807) |
| December 2010 | 73% | 27% | 46% | 20% | 8% | 0% | (2864) |
| May 2003 | 74% | 29% | 45% | 19% | 7% | 0% | (1002) |
| April 2001 | 73% | 28% | 45% | 21% | 6% | 0% | (802) |
| May 1995 | 70% | 30% | 40% | 21% | 8% | 0% | (802) |
| June 1994 | 72% | 31% | 41% | 19% | 9% | 0% | (801) |
| September 1988 | 72% | 26% | 46% | 18% | 9% | 1% | (500) |
| October 1984 | 71% | 30% | 41% | 21% | 7% | 1% | (999) |
| June 1980 | 67% | 23% | 44% | 24% | 9% | 0% | (1005) |
| May 1977 | 66% | 25% | 41% | 24% | 10% | 0% | (1005) |
[QUESTIONS 3, 4 AND 5 WERE ROTATED]
3. How would you rate the quality of the environment in the area where you live – excellent, good, only fair, or poor?
| TREND: |
Excellent/ | Excellent | Good | Only Fair | Poor | (VOL) Don’t know |
(n) |
| April 2012 | 75% | 30% | 45% | 18% | 6% | 1% | (804) |
| February 2012 | 77% | 29% | 48% | 17% | 5% | 0% | (803) |
| October 2011 | 72% | 25% | 47% | 19% | 9% | 0% | (817) |
| August 2011 | 79% | 31% | 48% | 16% | 5% | 0% | (802) |
| May 2011 | 79% | 33% | 46% | 15% | 6% | 0% | (807) |
| December 2010 | 66% | 14% | 52% | 25% | 9% | 0% | (2864) |
| April 2001 | 70% | 27% | 43% | 22% | 7% | 1% | (402) |
| September 1988 | 53% | 10% | 43% | 31% | 15% | 1% | (500) |
4. How would you rate the job your local schools are doing – excellent, good, only fair, or poor?
| TREND: |
Excellent/ | Excellent | Good | Only Fair | Poor | (VOL) Don’t know |
(n) |
| April 2012 | 63% | 23% | 40% | 21% | 7% | 8% | (804) |
| February 2012 | 68% | 26% | 42% | 16% | 8% | 8% | (803) |
| October 2011 | 60% | 21% | 39% | 20% | 13% | 7% | (817) |
| August 2011 | 63% | 19% | 44% | 26% | 6% | 5% | (802) |
| May 2011 | 63% | 24% | 39% | 22% | 10% | 6% | (807) |
| December 2010 | 64% | 24% | 40% | 23% | 8% | 5% | (2864) |
| August 2004 | 61% | 24% | 37% | 17% | 12% | 9% | (800) |
| April 2001 | 64% | 21% | 43% | 21% | 6% | 9% | (802) |
| September 1999 | 62% | 18% | 44% | 21% | 9% | 8% | (802) |
| September 1998 | 62% | 20% | 42% | 23% | 9% | 7% | (804) |
| February 1996 | 60% | 20% | 40% | 20% | 11% | 9% | (804) |
| September 1993 | 52% | 16% | 36% | 29% | 14% | 5% | (801) |
| January 1992 | 53% | 15% | 38% | 26% | 15% | 5% | (800) |
| October 1987 | 60% | 14% | 46% | 23% | 6% | 11% | (500) |
| October 1986 | 55% | 15% | 40% | 26% | 10% | 9% | (800) |
| October 1983 | 59% | 16% | 43% | 23% | 10% | 8% | (802) |
| May 1978 | 52% | 12% | 40% | 25% | 12% | 11% | (1003) |
5. How safe do you feel in your neighborhood at night – very safe, somewhat safe, or not at all safe?
| TREND: |
Very | Somewhat safe | Not at all safe | (VOL) Don’t know |
(n) |
| April 2012 | 64% | 31% | 5% | 1% | (804) |
| February 2012 | 62% | 32% | 5% | 0% | (803) |
| October 2011 | 62% | 31% | 7% | 0% | (817) |
| August 2011 | 63% | 31% | 6% | 0% | (802) |
| May 2011 | 68% | 27% | 5% | 0% | (807) |
| December 2010 | 59% | 35% | 6% | 0% | (2864) |
| February 1993 | 42% | 44% | 13% | 0% | (801) |
| October 1987 | 51% | 36% | 11% | 2% | (499) |
| October 1984 | 53% | 36% | 9% | 2% | (500) |
| May 1981 | 43% | 43% | 13% | 1% | (497) |
[Note: All trend results prior to 2005 come from Rutgers University’s Eagleton Poll.]
The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute on April 11 to 15, 2012 with a statewide random sample of 804 adult residents, including 644 contacted on a landline telephone and 160 on a cell phone. Live interviewing services were provided by Braun Research, Inc. and the telephone sample was obtained from Survey Sampling International. Monmouth is responsible for all aspects of the survey questionnaire design, data weighting and analysis. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling has a maximum margin of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Sampling error increases as the sample size decreases, so statements based on various population subgroups, such as separate figures reported by gender or party identification, are subject to more error than are statements based on the total sample. In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.
POLL DEMOGRAPHICS (weighted) | |||
| 36% Dem | 49% Male | 29% 18-34 | 64% White |
| 22% Rep | 51% Female | 39% 35-54 | 12% Black |
| 42% Ind | 32% 55+ | 15% Hispanic | |
9% Asian/Other | |||
Region is defined by county boundaries: Northeast (Bergen, Passaic), Urban Core (Essex, Hudson), Route 1 Corridor (Mercer, Middlesex, Union), Central Hills (Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset), Northern Shore (Monmouth, Ocean), Delaware Valley (Burlington, Camden, Gloucester), and Garden Core (Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Salem, Sussex, Warren).
It is the Monmouth University Polling Institute’s policy to conduct surveys of all adult New Jersey residents, including voters and non-voters, on issues that affect the state. Specific voter surveys are conducted when appropriate during election cycles.
Click on pdf file link below for full methodology and results by key demographic groups.
