Poll: New Jerseyans are proud of the Garden State

A new poll shows despite what other may think, most New Jerseyans say they are very proud of the Garden State.

Dino Flammia, Townsquare Media NJ

The Rutgers-Eagleton poll finds 56 percent of the New Jerseyans surveyed have a lot of pride about living here.

"We find pride is pretty big in New Jersey. We do like us, and we are pretty proud of ourselves too," said Ashley Koning, the assistant poll director for the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling.

According to the poll:

26 percent of those surveyed say they have at least some pride in New Jersey.
One in two in New Jersey say the state is a good or excellant place to live.
17 percent of all New Jerseyans mention something about location, location, location...convenient proximity. And actually a big chunk of that specific group mentioned the Garden State's proximity to New York City.
16 percent of those surveyed mentioned access to the shore as one of the things they like best about New Jersey.

"Of course we cannot forget the New Jersey shoreline," Koning said.

Despite their praise for the Garden State, many residents still indicated that they're concerned about how outsiders view New Jersey. Those who have lived here longer, of course, have built up more pride because they have been residents longer. Younger residents do not have as much pride in the state as older residents. Also, while they actually are more concerned about what people think, younger New Jerseyans are less likely to think that our image has been so negative lately from outsiders from other states.

According to the survey, 62 percent of people who have lived in New Jersey their entire lives believe the state is viewed negatively by outsiders. Those who have only lived in the state a short time, however, have an opposing view. There are also differences in how the state is viewed based on factors such as income, gender and other factors.

"We see differences by gender and income and education and even region in terms of what amount of pride people feel and how they feel about living in New Jersey," Koning said.

In addition, those living in urban areas have much more pride in New Jersey than residents in any other region. In fact, 70 percent say they take a lot of pride in being a Garden State resident.

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