Majorities of New Jersey voters say the affordability of housing and utilities is getting worse and that government officials should do more to address the problem, according to a new poll released Wednesday by the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University.
Voters also weighed in on the state budget, new taxes, property tax relief, cell phones in schools, and congestion pricing tolls.
“In an election year, especially, it’s important to understand where the voters stand on some of the top issues in New Jersey,” said Hughes Center Head of Research Alyssa Maurice. “This gives policymakers a blueprint.”
The poll of 667 registered voters was conducted April 10-14 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage points.
State budget
Voters were informed that New Jersey is aiming to address its budget deficit by increasing revenue and decreasing spending. They were presented with a list of various approaches to raise revenue and cut spending, including some proposed in Governor Phil Murphy’s 2026 state budget, and were asked which, if any, they would support. The proposals to increase revenue or reduce spending were presented in random order for each respondent.
Among the proposals to bring in additional funds, raising taxes on online gambling and sports betting received the highest rate of support at 58%, followed by raising taxes on wealthy individuals at 55%. Just under a majority (49%) support raising taxes on cigarettes and alcohol and raising taxes on corporations (48%).
The wording of the survey choices did not indicate that New Jersey already has the highest corporation tax rate in the nation.
Most voters (85%) have not gambled online with a betting app, sportsbook or casino in the past year, while 8% rarely have, and 7% have sometimes or often. Men gambled online at higher rates than women.
“Online gambling rates are still pretty low among voters at-large, so that helps shed some light on why that’s a tax hike they’re largely fine with,” Maurice said.
Housing affordability and utility costs
Three in four voters (76%) said housing affordability is getting worse in their community, while 18% said it is stable and only 3% said it is getting better.
Two thirds (67%) said the affordability of utilities like gas and electricity is getting worse, 27% said it remains the same, and 2% said it is getting better.
A majority (77%) agreed that government officials in New Jersey should do more to make sure there is enough affordable housing available (including 91% of Democrats, 57% of Republicans and 77% of Independents), while 17% disagreed.
Voters overwhelmingly agreed (92%) that government officials should do more to make sure utilities are affordable for residents with more consensus along party lines (96% of Democrats, 87% of Republicans and 90% of Independents), and 5% disagreed.
Among policies to help address housing costs in the state, increasing property tax relief garnered the most support at 62% and stands out as the only policy with bipartisan support. It is followed by increasing down payment assistance for first-time home buyers and rental assistance for low-income renters, both tied at 53%.
Congestion pricing
Most voters (63%) oppose congestion pricing for traffic in nearby cities like New York or Philadelphia. About 1 in 5 (22%) support congestion pricing and 13% are not sure. A majority of 83% of Republicans oppose congestion pricing versus a plurality of 48% of Democrats.
Cell phones in schools
Half of New Jersey voters support banning cell phones in K-12 schools, while 35% oppose and 14% are not sure. No differences in support were found between voters with any children currently enrolled in grades K-12 and those without school-age dependents.
When it comes to the policy details, a plurality of 40% said devices should be locked away during classroom periods only. One-fourth said devices should be locked away for the entire school day and nearly the same rate (22%) said the use of devices should be banned, but students should not be required to lock them away. Only 8% said devices should not be restricted in any way in K-12 schools.
View the full poll results here.
