New Jersey Falls From Top Ranks in Population

[Jularc]

New Jersey Falls From Top Ranks in Population


By KAREEM FAHIM
Published: December 22, 2006

NEWARK, Dec. 21 — For those convinced New Jersey does not get the respect it deserves, the latest census news is a dagger to the heart: for the first time, it has fallen from the list of the 10 most populous states, yielding its place to North Carolina.

What’s more, about 72,000 New Jerseyans actually left for other states, an exodus that puts the New Jersey fourth in a select group of the scorned. Louisiana, California and New York were the other states that lost the most residents, the Census Bureau reported on Thursday.

Only a year ago this battered state, which is thinking seriously of hanging a for-sale sign on the New Jersey Turnpike to make ends meet, lost its No. 1 rank in median family income, slipping behind Connecticut.

Of course, how to react to the latest news in a state that is still the most densely populated in the country is a matter of opinion.

“If you’re stuck in rush-hour traffic in the morning, you’re not concerned whether population growth is slow,” said James W. Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.

The statistics suggest that the traffic problems will remain, at least for now. New Jersey’s population actually grew in the last year, by about 21,000 people, bringing it to slightly more than 8.7 million, according to the numbers released by the Census Bureau. More than 54,000 people came to the state from overseas, and more than 100,000 babies were born.

But the growth was the lowest in four years, a period in which the number of people moving out almost tripled.

“New Jersey did gain in population, but North Carolina gained a lot more,” said Robert Bernstein, a spokesman for the Census Bureau. By that, he meant 162,636 more, with the great majority of North Carolina’s windfall arriving from other states, including New Jersey.

Between 2000 and 2005, New Jerseyans headed primarily to Pennsylvania, New York, California, Florida and Virginia, according to Kevin Smith, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

As Dr. Hughes put it: “Job growth has been faster in other regions of the country. And New Jersey ranked No. 1 in terms of housing costs.”

While small consolation for those invested in local pride, he added that other states in the Northeast had similar problems.

The whole region grew by 62,000 people from July 2005 to July 2006, compared with 1.5 million in the South, one million in the West and more than a quarter of a million in the Midwest, the Census Bureau reported.

Asked about the damage to the collective psyche in New Jersey, which many say is already downtrodden, Dr. Hughes said, “I think most New Jerseyans will shrug their shoulders and not worry about it at all.”


Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

[LMich]

And, Georgia's about to pass Michigan.

What is this world coming to. I kid, I kid.

[Alta California]

Originally Posted by LMich

And, Georgia's about to pass Michigan.

What is this world coming to.

Redder...

[shanthemanatl]

Originally Posted by LMich

And, Georgia's about to pass Michigan.

What is this world coming to. I kid, I kid.

Apparently, they're coming to the South in large numbers....

[PhillyRising]

Let them all move south...that means there is more room for those of us with some sense who stayed!

[Ex-Ithacan]

Winter is the only time of year I consider moving to the south. I know I'm below the Mason/Dixon line now, but I still feel I'm a northerner. Anyway, I don't see any changes in this population shift to the south and west. Unless gold is discovered in the Meadowlands or a new oil boom in PA, the northeast will keep losing those raised there.

[passdoubt]

Boomtown Boise here we come!

[brickell]

Originally Posted by PhillyNation

Let them all move south...that means there is more room for those of us with some sense who stayed!

And more taxes to keep up with the underused, outdated and crumbling infrastructure!

I kid.

Not too much longer for Florida to overtake NY.

[PhillyRising]

[QUOTE=brickell;2527087]And more taxes to keep up with the underused, outdated and crumbling infrastructure!

I kid.

But once all of it is new again...it will be more attractive than a Sun Belt infrastructure that has burst at the seams!

I kid!

[bryson662001]

I'll take New Jersey over North Carolina any day......and I'm not kidding!

[tackledspoon]

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan

Winter is the only time of year I consider moving to the south. I know I'm below the Mason/Dixon line now, but I still feel I'm a northerner. Anyway, I don't see any changes in this population shift to the south and west. Unless gold is discovered in the Meadowlands or a new oil boom in PA, the northeast will keep losing those raised there.

New Jersey is the nation's largest exporter of college kids. The high quality of public education in many parts of the state leads to a lot of kids going to out-of-state universities and never coming back. It's really a double-edged sword.

[Jersey Mentality]

I knew North Carolina would pass New Jersey soon. In 2000 it only had a few thousand less, and North Carolina is like 10 times larger so it was inevitable. But we are still alot denser, smarter, and richer, ha! One thing that is making many move from Jersey is the cost of living although it is almost matched by some of the country's highest wages. But for the 46th smallest state it is surprising to know that it is so high in population. Hell we still have more people then Massachusettes, and they are larger and they have Boston. Jersey doesnt have any cities close to a half a million or over.

[hauntedheadnc]

Before this thread turns into a bashfest, as such threads are wont to do, the more productive thing to do here would be to try to figure out how to keep people from leaving. This, in lieu of the typical "But we're like smarter and stuff so nyah!" crap that invariably gets thrown around. Obviously, that tack isn't working, because those smart people are still leaving. You're not just exporting your idiots; you'd have to be one yourself to think otherwise.

[Lexy]

Originally Posted by PhillyNation

those of us with some sense who stayed!

Speak for yourself on that my friend. Apparently the majority doesn't share your feelings on this.

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by Lexy

Speak for yourself on that my friend. Apparently the majority doesn't share your feelings on this.

It was a joke hence the emoticons however are you implying that living up here is something horrible?

[Lexy]

Originally Posted by PhillyNation

It was a joke hence the emoticons however are you implying that living up here is something horrible?

I know it was a joke and to answer your other question...different strokes for different folks man. The jobs are here, the money is to be made here, the houses are cheap, the land is cheap, the resources for those who are looking to "settle down" are easy to acquire here in the South..I could go on and on. So no, I am not implying anything. But the numbers should really just speak for themselves in this matter. Does this mean I dislike the north, or its people (even those who choose to stay up north)? Absolutely not! I say more power to ya! My hats off to you. And to those who are moving here to the south, welcome.

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by Lexy

I know it was a joke and to answer your other question...different strokes for different folks man.

Exactly. Which is why I could never be happy living down south. I just get a bit touchy when people imply that people are moving south because living in the Northeast is somehow awful.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Alta California

Redder...

Don't be so sure. With the population shift undoubtedly coming from the north, that means more and more Democratic voters will be flooding into these traditionally conservative states. You're already seeing it out west where historically conservative states like Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Montana and New Mexico are trending bluer and bluer. I bet, and expect, the same to happen in the south as more north easterners and rust belt residents move there.

[tackledspoon]

Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc

Before this thread turns into a bashfest, as such threads are wont to do, the more productive thing to do here would be to try to figure out how to keep people from leaving. This, in lieu of the typical "But we're like smarter and stuff so nyah!" crap that invariably gets thrown around. Obviously, that tack isn't working, because those smart people are still leaving. You're not just exporting your idiots; you'd have to be one yourself to think otherwise.

Your sense is not welcome in this thread!
Here are my ideas about New Jersey, a state that I have lived in for ten years and had a habitual love-hate relationship with:
New Jersey's cities are ailing. Newark is only at the very beginning of the uphill battle back to importance and self-sufficiency as a city. Corey Booker is a fighter and I think he has the power to bring it back, but for the time being, Newark and its immediate suburbs are the bane of the state's existence. Outer ring, rich suburbanites don't want to see their county taxes go towards failing urban renewal projects in a city that they don't use (see Millburn/Short Hills secession bid). The same goes for Camden in the south, except, if anything, Camden is in a downward spiral.
Jersey City is finally starting to see some big gains, but it's doing so by virtue of becoming a bedroom for young people who work in New York and companies who see it as cheaper real-estate. It needs to embrace its prime location, but keep its identity and start drawing people from the New Jersey suburbs into it, instead of out-of-staters who can't quite afford to live in New York.
Kids leave New Jersey because they go to colleges elsewhere and life seems exciting at college when compared to life in a boring New Jersey suburb. Kids in NJ really don't use its location to their advantage. Aside from the occasional sporting event or Broadway show, kids, even those who have a line running directly into midtown right in their backyard, forget that they're a short train ride away from the most fantastic city in North America, if not the world.
When I went away to school, I missed New Jersey and I missed my friends, but most of all, I missed being near New York. If more kids who grew up here were introduced to and allowed to use the city like I was, I don't think that they'd want to leave. Suburbanites are still very afraid of New York, so they shield their children from it, preferring for them to stay in the Suburbs on the weekend and drive drunk around winding subdivisions, complaining about how boring life is here.
In addition to that, I did get involved with things in my own area instead of drinking and partying all of the time. I went to local shows, took classes at the Center for the Visual Arts, took weeked drives to nature preserves etc...
The Northeast is going to continue hemorrhaging baby-boomers who won't put up with high taxes, but it can do a lot to keep its young.
So basically my plan goes thus:
1. Renew urban areas within the state.
- Draw in suburbanites
- Lower crime rates
- Improve schools
- Improve quality of universities within urban areas of NJ (draw in more young, educated locals)
2. Teach suburbanites that the city is to be embraced and not feared
- School trips to New York
- Advertising for NJ transit lines into the city at public schools
- Discounted student fares on weekends
3. Show people that the suburbs do have something to offer in terms of entertainment beyond Must See TV for adults and drunk driving for kids:
- Promote local arts centers in schools (I went to school one town over from the state center for the visual arts and only found out about it when I took a wrong turn while trying to find a sushi restaurant)
- School/Community Organization/Church events must be planned by the kids who will be attending them- not out of touch committees of adults.
4. Get the community involved in town hall.
- Ban subdivision community boards and make sure that all issues are addressed through the town hall committee
- This will get parents whose entire social circle consists of a few of their childrens' friends' parents and a neighbor or two out in an open, socially conducive atmosphere.
- Make the suburbs into a community that people will look upon fondly instead of the sterile, disconnected hell that most kids my age percieve them to be.

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by Comrade Reynolds

Don't be so sure. With the population shift undoubtedly coming from the north, that means more and more Democratic voters will be flooding into these traditionally conservative states.

Yes.....the migration south is really a diabolical plot to take over the place and turn it into the north with warmer weather!