Most NJ Residents Rate State & National Economies Negatively

Sixty-two percent of New Jersey Democrats rate the national economy as “poor.” That’s not a typo. And it’s one data point in a new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll that’s ugly across the board.

Three-quarters of Garden State residents give the state economy a negative rating. The national economy fares even worse: nearly 8 in 10 New Jerseyans say it’s bad. The poll, conducted in partnership with the New Jersey Organization for a Better State political action committee, dropped this week with numbers that don’t leave much room for spin.

On the state economy, 29% of residents rated conditions “poor” and 46% said “only fair.” Just 20% called it “good.” Overall negativity on the state economy has climbed 6 points since October. The national picture is grimmer: 46% called it “poor” and 33% “only fair,” with only 17% landing on “good” and 2% “excellent.” National negativity surged 9 points since October, driven by residents moving from “only fair” into the “poor” column outright.

“Pessimism continues to overwhelm New Jerseyans’ views on both the state and national economies,” said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

She didn’t stop there. “The message to both Trenton and especially Washington is clear: Rising costs, stagnant wages, and an ongoing affordability crisis have yet to be addressed in any way residents can feel,” she said, according to InsiderNJ.

That’s a direct shot at two capitals. Both are named. Neither gets cover.

The partisan breakdown is interesting but probably not the way you’d expect. Democrats are the most down on the national economy right now: 94% rate it negatively, with 62% going straight to “poor.” Republicans clock in at 54% negative on the national economy. Partisans judge the economy through whoever’s in the White House, and the numbers show it.

Flip to the state economy and it’s a different picture. Republicans are actually harder on New Jersey than Democrats are. Eighty-six percent of Republicans rate the state economy negatively, compared with two-thirds of Democrats. Independents split the middle on both: about three-quarters negative on the state, close to 8 in 10 negative on the national.

Don’t look for a demographic escape hatch. Koning’s data cuts across age, income, race, region, and education level. In every single group measured, at least 7 in 10 residents rate the national economy negatively. At least two-thirds say the same about New Jersey’s economy. The numbers don’t change depending on your zip code or your income bracket. Everyone’s feeling it.

On affordability, the numbers are brutal. More than 8 in 10 residents say they’re either “very dissatisfied” or “somewhat dissatisfied” (32%) with how state government handles the cost of living. That includes 52% who chose “very dissatisfied.” Only 14% expressed any satisfaction at all. The New Jersey Department of the Treasury oversees budget and fiscal policy, but residents aren’t giving Trenton credit for much of anything on that front.

Those satisfaction numbers haven’t moved in any meaningful direction. Forty is a round number that describes roughly how many years my family ran a deli in Bergen County, watching prices climb and margins shrink. The polling data in 2026 describes something a lot of New Jersey families recognize without needing a survey.

With a gubernatorial election set for 2027, Koning’s findings land at an awkward moment for incumbents and challengers alike. Eight in 10 people telling you the economy is broken isn’t a talking point. It’s a starting gun. Whoever’s running for governor in 2027 will need an answer that residents can actually feel, not just a press release from Trenton.

The poll was conducted by the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.