NJ Residents Voice Concerns in New Poll [AUDIO]

Jobs and property taxes are the biggest concerns among likely New Jersey voters, according to a survey conducted by the Stockton Polling Institute.

Nearly one in four respondents identified property taxes as their top priority, but jobs topped the list at 24 percent.

"Money matters most to New Jersey voters in this poll," said Daniel J. Douglas, Director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton College. "All the other issues tended to be much lower."

Taxes in general were identified by 12 percent of respondents as the top issue facing New Jersey. The economy received 9 percent of the vote, followed by K-12 education at 5 percent. No other issue received more than 3 percent.

An accompanying poll question shows why property taxes rank so high on New Jersey residents' radar screens. Close to 80 percent of respondents said their property taxes have gone up in the last three years.

"Thirty-nine percent thought that property taxes had gone up a lot," Douglas explained. "Forty percent thought property taxes had gone up a little."

About ten percent said property taxes remained the same.