NJ residents report growing difficulty affording everyday expenses, Rutgers poll finds
NEW JERSEY — New Jersey residents are reporting greater difficulty affording everyday necessities, while large majorities continue to hold negative views of both the state and national economies, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll.
The poll found that difficulty affording expenses has increased since March in five of the six categories researchers have tracked, with some of the largest increases among residents who describe costs as “very difficult” to afford.
Among people for whom the expenses apply, nearly three-quarters said education costs, including student loans, are difficult to afford. Forty-five percent described those costs as very difficult, up 10 percentage points since March, while 29% said they are somewhat difficult.
Childcare expenses, which were measured for the first time in the latest poll, were considered difficult to afford by nearly three-quarters of those to whom the costs apply. Forty-six percent said childcare is very difficult to afford and 27% said it is somewhat difficult.
About two-thirds reported difficulty affording gasoline and transportation, with 34% calling those costs very difficult and 32% somewhat difficult. The percentage describing transportation costs as very difficult increased 10 points since March.
Housing costs were difficult for about two-thirds of respondents to whom they applied, including 32% who said they were very difficult to afford and 33% who described them as somewhat difficult.
About 6 in 10 reported difficulty paying for health care and medical costs, utility bills and groceries.
Thirty-one percent said health care and medical costs were very difficult to afford and 32% said they were somewhat difficult. For utility bills, 28% reported they were very difficult and 33% somewhat difficult, while 26% described groceries and food costs as very difficult and 35% as somewhat difficult.
Since March, the percentage describing costs as very difficult to afford increased 10 points for education and gasoline and transportation, 6 points for groceries, 5 points for health care, 4 points for housing and 2 points for utilities. The increases for education, transportation, groceries and health care were statistically significant, according to the poll.
“What we are seeing is less about how many New Jerseyans are struggling and more about how intense the struggle is,” said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. “In most categories the overall numbers moved only slightly, if at all. The real movement is underneath them: in every single category we track, fewer residents call these costs ‘somewhat difficult’ and more call them ‘very difficult.’ Difficulty may be spreading to some extent, but more than that, it is deepening.”
The poll also found more than three-quarters of New Jersey residents hold a negative view of the state’s economy. Thirty-five percent described it as poor and 42% as only fair, compared with 18% who rated it good and 1% who called it excellent.
Overall negative views of New Jersey’s economy increased 2 percentage points since March, while the percentage describing the state economy as poor rose 6 points.
Views of the national economy were even more negative, with 80% giving it a poor or only fair rating. Fifty-one percent described the national economy as poor and 29% said it was only fair. Sixteen percent rated it good and 2% excellent.
Overall negative views of the national economy increased 1 percentage point since March, while the percentage calling it poor rose 5 points.
“New Jerseyans have been sour on the economy, especially the national one, for some time now, and nothing in these numbers suggests that mood is lifting,” said Koning. “What is striking, however, is how views on the two are differently shaped. Party is the main driver of how someone rates the national economy, whereas partisans look nearly identical on the state economy.”
The poll found differences by political affiliation in views of the national economy. Ninety-one percent of Democrats rated it negatively, including 65% who described it as poor and 26% as only fair.
Among independents, 85% gave the national economy a negative rating, including 56% who called it poor and 29% only fair.
Fifty-five percent of Republicans rated the national economy negatively, with 20% describing it as poor and 35% as only fair.
Researchers found no statistically significant differences among political parties in their assessments of New Jersey’s economy.
Across groups based on gender, race and ethnicity, age, income, region and education, at least 7 in 10 respondents gave negative ratings to both the New Jersey and national economies.
