Over 60% of New Jerseyans continue to give positive ratings to their home state as a place to live, but views of some local aspects of the state’s quality of life have declined, particularly around schools and safety, according to the Monmouth University Poll’s annual benchmark index rating.

However, although the overall number has matched previous years, it only remained stable due to offsetting partisan shifts in opinion, with Republicans feeling more negative than at the beginning of the year and Democrats feeling more positive.

Monmouth’s exclusive Garden State Quality of Life Index score now stands at +23, which is similar to January’s +24 rating and slightly lower than last year’s +27 rating.

The current reading is near the midpoint of scores since Monmouth first started tracking the quality of life index in 2010. The index number jumped to +37 at the beginning of the Covid pandemic in April 2020, but dropped back to +25 in May 2021.

In prior years, the index rating ranged between +18 and +31, with an outlying low point of +13 registered in February 2019.

The statewide index score has held steady since the beginning of the year, but there have been some regional shifts.

Specifically, the index score has dropped in counties making up the Northern Shore (from +35 to +23) and Garden Core (from +14 to +2) regions.

It has gone up in the Delaware Valley region (from +19 to +29) and held steady elsewhere. The Central Hills region (+38) continues to record the highest quality of life index score.

These regional shifts correlate with a change in partisan views of New Jersey’s quality of life.

The Garden State Quality of Life Index score has dropped among Republicans (from +16 to +5) since January, at the same time it has risen among Democrats (from +37 to +46) and held steady among independents (from +17 to +16). The Northern Shore and Garden Core regions are significantly more Republican than other parts of the state.

“As with everything in society today, how people view what’s going on in their own backyards seems to be filtered through a partisan lens,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement.

The percentage of New Jerseyans who currently feel very safe in their own neighborhoods at night stands at 58%, which is lower than 64% in January and 65% in 2022.

This marks only the second time since 2010 that this metric fell below the 60% mark (58% in September 2014 and 59% in December 2010). It has generally ranged between 60% and 68% very safe while topping 70% on two occasions (71% in July 2017 and 74% in April 2020).

However, polls taken in the 1980s and 1990s found a much lower sense of security among Garden State residents (between 42% and 53% very safe).

The Garden State Quality of Life Index was created by the Monmouth University Polling Institute in 2010 to serve as a resident-based indicator of the quality of life offered by the state of New Jersey.

The index is based on five separate poll questions: overall opinion of the state as a place to live – which contributes half the index score – and ratings of one’s hometown, the performance of local schools, the quality of the local environment, and feelings of safety in one’s own neighborhood. The index can potentially range from –100 to +100.

The Monmouth poll was conducted between August 10-14 with a sample size of 814 adults and a margin of error of +/- 5.4%