EDITOR’S NOTE: Author was born & raised in NY, NY, & will probably never move away.
For centuries, New Jersey has been at the butt of the joke. Natives are forced to grow up with catlike defense mechanisms, jumping in with a – “No! It’s actually really nice where I’m from!” – when inevitably confronted with the same, tired, stereotypes thrown at them from Americans, who more often than not, hail from inferior states.
Rather than the ~air of sophistication~ one intends to put on when hating on New Jersey, their simplemindedness and naïveté are exposed instead. Not only are they hater bandwagoning – they are basing their beliefs in lies. It is only the true free thinkers, de-programmed from years of anti-New Jersey American brainwashing, that can see the situation as it clearly lies. New Jersey is the fucking best – better than New York. While it might be a reach to say that the state is perfect, it’s not far from it. And it’s time someone puts their foot down and says – ENOUGH.
Specifically, I want to address one of Jersey’s harshest critics, New York. Notice Jersey’s ability to drop the ‘new’ and assert its dominance as the Jersey – York doesn’t work. Half of New York’s entire public identity comes from New Jersey. New York’s football teams, their soccer team and technically the Statue of Goddam Liberty and Ellis Island are all in the Garden State. New York can’t even claim their de-facto theme song, New York, New York, as theirs – because Frank Sinatra was the embodiment of New Jersey, baby.
This isn’t simply opinion based though. In August the finance company WalletHub ranked the best states to live in for 2025, calculating the score through a range of livability factors. New Jersey came in third while New York didn’t even make the top five, landing at number nine.
Interactive Map ~
To compare the two states on stats alone:
- Median Household Income: New Jersey boasts a higher median household income of $79,363 compared to New York’s $65,323.
- Poverty Rate: The poverty rate in New Jersey is lower at 9.5%, while New York’s stands at 13.6%.
- Educational Attainment: A greater percentage of New Jersey residents hold at least a bachelor’s degree (38.9%) compared to those in New York (35.9%).
- Homeownership: New Jersey has a higher owner-occupied housing unit rate of 63.9%, surpassing New York’s rate of 53.9%.
- Safety: In a 2023 study, New Jersey ranked first in safety among U.S. states
Statistically speaking, New Jersey is a more diverse, safe, educated, and rich state. Interesting.
Before the ‘BUT NEW YORK IS WAY MORE POPULATED’ comments – shut up. New York completely neglects the northern portion of its territory, leaving the entire state to rely on the success of five boroughs. This is New Jersey would never. Despite being the third smallest state, 9.5 million Americans choose to settle their lives in New Jersey – making it the most densely populated state in the country, with 1,195.5 people per square mile.
And it’s neighbor New York? The state that is 537 percent larger than New Jersey? They only have a population density of 428.7 people per square mile. Where are all the New Yorkers? Oh, just crammed into .6 percent of the entire state’s landmass.
Forty five percent of New York State’s entire population (9 MILLION PEOPLE) live within the City’s 320 sq miles. And they aren’t even happy! A poll conducted by the Citizens Budget Commission showed that only THIRTY PERCENT of New Yorkers described the quality of life in the City as “excellent or good” when responding. It’s dirty, there’s no privacy, and you need to make at least $211,970 a year to even consider buying a ‘home’ in the City, a.k.a a walk-up studio in an undesirable neighborhood.
State to state – there is no comparison.
Seeing is Believing
New Jersey’s official slogan is – “Come See For Yourself”. It literally dares people to visit and not have a good time. The state breeds geniuses, it has the more scientists per square mile than anywhere else on the planet and their public school system recently ranked first in the nation. Dinosaurs were discovered in New Jersey, never in New York. What else do I need to say?Valium, cranberry sauce, and Monopoly all exist because of New Jersey. Imagine a world without them.
Loving New Jersey is the new Hating New Jersey. It’s in. Don’t be stuck in the past.