PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — New Jersey could see a mass exodus in the near future. A new poll finds that 44% of residents plan to leave the Garden State in the not so distant future due to high property taxes and cost of living.
According to the survey conducted for the Garden State Initiative and Fairleigh Dickinson University’s School of Public and Global Affairs, 28% plan to move out of New Jersey within five years.
Those with the biggest desire to leave are young residents between the ages of 18 to 29 as 40% intend to move out of the state within the next five years. A third of those nearing retirement also plan to leave within the next five years.
Thirty-nine percent of all New Jersey adults say they are considering moving out of the state within the next ten years and another 5% want to leave after ten years.
The poll points to the high cost of living and property taxes as the main reasons why so many want to depart the Garden State — not weather and public transportation.
“These results should alarm every elected official and policymaker in New Jersey,” Garden State Initiative’s president Regina Egea said in a statement. “We have a crisis of confidence in the ability of our leaders to address property taxes and the cost of living whether at the start of their career, in prime earning years, or repositioning for retirement, New Jersey residents see greener pastures in other states. This crisis presents a profound challenge to our state as we are faced with a generation of young residents looking elsewhere to build their careers, establish families and make investments like homeownership.”
A scientifically selected random sample of 801 New Jersey adults were used for the survey that was conducted between Sept. 26 and Oct. 2.
*story by CBS Philadelphia