Is New Jersey the Crankiest State in the U.S.?
What are you looking at?
New Jersey is no stranger to unflattering stereotypes about its residents. The Garden State has been described as home to some of the most impatient, ill-tempered, and aggressive people in the nation. But do these stereotypes hold weight? A look at some recent informal rankings of the “crankiest” states places New Jersey near the top of the list.
A 2020 study by 24/7 Wall St. attempted to determine America’s crankiest states by analyzing data on community involvement, neighborly behavior, and personalities [1]. They ranked states on factors like volunteer rates, socializing with neighbors, personalities, and personal priorities. New Jersey landed at #3 on the list, with the authors describing New Jerseyans as “cold, discontented, and intense.”
Insider Monkey’s tongue-in-cheek list looked at data including WalletHub’s ranking of the rudest drivers and profanity usage on Twitter [2]. New Jersey cracked their top 10 crankiest states at #7. The authors speculated that long commutes and traffic congestion may contribute to short fuses.
Travel & Leisure took a city-specific approach, calling out the crankiest urban areas based on voting behaviors, hours worked, and commute times [3]. No surprise that East Coast cities like Newark, Jersey City, and Atlantic City made the list for New Jersey. Long work hours and commutes in congested cities were cited as likely factors.
And in casual crowd-sourced rankings on sites like Ranker, New Jersey fares poorly when it comes to crankiness perceptions [4]. Real or imagined, the New Jersey attitude gets called out frequently.
Do these lists and stereotypes reflect reality for most New Jersey residents? Likely not. Trying to categorize an entire state’s disposition so generally risks oversimplifying vastly diverse communities and personalities. But there are some plausible root factors that may contribute to increased impatience, stress, and frustration – particularly in crowded urban areas like those in New Jersey. Long commutes, congestion, high taxes, and the overall fast-paced lifestyle could trigger higher anxiety and short tempers.
While frequent crankiness might be an unfair blanket generalization, New Jerseyans do face conditions that test one’s patience. Out-of-staters should cut New Jersey drivers some slack and remember we’re not all cast members of the Real Housewives. But we can acknowledge that New Jersey offers some unique pressures that may inadvertently feed negative stereotypes. At least we have Bruce Springsteen uplifting our spirits.
