Why New Jerseyans say it’s not a great place to live

A Rutgers/Eagleton Poll finds many New Jerseyans are upset with the state's economy and taxes. But they also display growing satisfaction with their neighborhood and towns.

Poll Director Ashley Koning says New Jerseyans are incredibly dissatisfied with government services that deal with financial issues.

"Taxes rank dead last in terms of their satisfaction with how state government has handled particular issue areas," she said. "A somewhat similar number say the same thing about cost of living and affordability, as well as government spending in the state budget. This is just not a shock. Taxes on New Jerseyans is their No. 1 concern."

And it's the No. 1 thing that they want Gov. Phil Murphy to work on, she said.

Koning also said the poll shows that the number of people who say New Jersey is not as great as other states has gone up since the last time they asked that question,

"Even though there is a lot of positivity with the state in terms of where people live, especially their neighborhoods and their towns, residents are just not necessarily glowing when it comes to ranking New Jersey against other states in the nation," she said.

"New Jerseyans are still pretty positive about living in New jersey in general. This has always been the trend, since the poll first started in 1971. But, you know, New Jerseyans are definitely not as happy as they have been in the past."

Almost half of those in the poll want to stay where they are. But 3 in 10 want to leave the state altogether.

"This is a pretty big leap from what we have seen in the past," Koning said. "And a marked difference from what we have seen in years past, in terms of people who actually want to get out."

Joe Cutter is the afternoon news anchor on New Jersey 101.5.

More from New Jersey 101.5: