New Jersey Ranked 48th In List Of Best States; Residents Say 'That's Ridiculous'
BLOOMFIELD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - A new survey ranking best and worst states in the country is sure to raise eyebrows in the Garden State.
According to the survey by YouGov.com, New Jersey ranked 48th in a list of "All U.S. states ranked from best to worst, according to Americans."
The method of their survey?
"We asked people to choose the better of two states in a series of head-to-head matchups. States are rated based on their 'win percentage,' that is: how often that state won the head-to-head matchup when it was one of the two states shown,'" the authors wrote on the website. Some 1,211 people participated in the survey.
New Jersey came with a 39% "win percentage," just 1% higher than Mississippi, Alabama, and the District of Columbia, which is not a state but was included in the survey.
New Jersey gets a bad rap. There's the traffic, the endless tolls, high taxes and the occasional odor.
Then there are the stereotypes fueled in part by HBO's mob drama "The Sopranos" and, of course, MTV's "Jersey Shore."
Still, many were stunned when they learned about the rankings.
CBS2's Nick Caloway went to Gencarelli's Italian Bakery in Bloomfield to see what people thought about Jersey being ranked one of the worst states in the nation.
"I think that's ridiculous," Glen Ridge resident Charlie Breslin said.
"Forty-eight is atrocious," Kinnelon resident Chester Tadrzynski said.
"I could name at least 10, 15 states that I deem worse than New Jersey," Bloomfield resident Daniel Colon said.
New Jerseyans were quick to point out all the things they love about living in the Garden State.
"Jersey has a lot to offer. Lot of great restaurants, the Jersey Shore," Tadrzynski said.
"I think we have one of the best education systems. We have parks and the beach," Bloomfield resident Dawn Giunta said.
Down at Angelo's Pizzeria, manager Sam Sarno thinks outsiders judge the state only by what they see on the Turnpike.
"People that come through here, they might just see partial of it. They don't see all the good stuff about this state," he said.
https://t.co/AQ2U0Wfhui pic.twitter.com/CjHsQoLecH
— New Jersey (@NJGov) April 13, 2021
Certainly Gov. Phil Murphy's office didn't appreciate the ranking. The state's official Twitter account put out a succinct response: A picture of a flag with an image of the state and a message saying simply "we don't like you either."
Back in Bloomfield, Giuseppe Cica had a very Jersey response to the snub.
"Ehhh, I don't like that," he said.
In other words, fuggedaboutit.
New York came in at #8, and Connecticut at #23.
The top states, according to the survey, are Hawaii and Colorado.
CBS2's Nick Caloway contributed to this report.