Texas says NJ residents should move there — Is it worth it?

TRENTON — The governor of Texas is not looking to restart the Civil War. He just wants New Jersey residents to move there.

Republican Greg Abbott's editorial was posted on NJ.com on Tuesday. He attempts to convince people of the benefits of moving to Texas in light of taxes proposed by Gov. Phil Murphy. Abbott said he would "like to throw a lifeline to businesses and families throughout New Jersey who are looking for greater economic opportunity and relief from high taxes."

"The first thing Garden Staters will notice when they come to our state is that unlike New Jersey, Texas does not have a state income tax," he said in the piece. "But it doesn't stop there. Since I was elected Governor we have cut taxes in the Lone Star State by nearly $4 billion."

Abbott said the cuts he has made are a sharp contrast to the $2.7 billion increase Murphy proposed in his first budget as chief executive of New Jersey. The Texas governor also cited an article in Forbes that listed Texas as the No. 2 state in the union for business, while New Jersey ranked 36th.

While Abbott focused on taxes and business regulations, the Garden State outshines the Lone Star State in other areas.

Texas v. New Jersey — Education

In January, WalletHub ranked New Jersey as the 10th best state in the country for education, while Texas finished just out of the bottom 10 at number 39. With a total score of 64.60, New Jersey was found to be significantly better in both "Educational Attainment" and "Quality of Education."

Texas v. New Jersey — Wealth and poverty

According to the U.S. Census, New Jersey ranks sixth with 11.1 percent of its population in poverty. Texas, meanwhile, ranks 38th with 17.2 percent of its population in poverty.

New Jersey's median household income is $72,222. Texas' is $55,653.

Texas v. New Jersey — Environment

WalletHub also put New Jersey ahead of Texas in a report on the greenest states in the country. The Garden State was ranked 13th, while Texas lagged behind at 43rd. Both states struggled in the "Environmental Quality" rank, while New Jersey was far superior in the "Eco-Friendly Behaviors" and "Climate Change Contributions" categories.

Texas v. New Jersey — Life expectancy

An article in Business Insider also put New Jersey in 10th place for healthy life expectancy with 68.8 years. Texas still falls out of the top half of this category, coming in at 29th with a life expectancy of 67.4 years. By comparison, residents of Minnesota have the highest healthy life expectancy at 70.3 years, while West Virginia comes in last with a healthy life expectancy of 63.8 years.

Texas v. New Jersey — Gun deaths

Texas also has a higher firearm death rate, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2016 Texas' death rate was 12.1 per 100,000 people with 3,353 deaths. New Jersey meanwhile had a firearm death rate of 5.5 per 100,000 people with 485 deaths.

Texas v. New Jersey — DWI deaths

Mothers Against Drunk Driving noted in a recent report that Texas also had far more drunk driving deaths than New Jersey. New Jersey's 137 drunk driving deaths represented 23 percent of all traffic deaths last year, putting the state in eighth place. Texas' 1,438 deaths represented 38 percent of all traffic deaths there, putting them 46th in the nation.

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