A statewide poll of 1,004 adults, commissioned by the Consortium, on what residents need to know about their communities, how well local news delivers it and how information shapes civic life.
Results from a statewide poll of New Jersey adults conducted Sept. 24–27, 2026.
Half to three-quarters of New Jerseyans say reliable information is “very important” on nearly every local issue asked about.
“New Jerseyans place a high value on reliable information about their local area, particularly on issues most pertinent to their everyday lives.”
— Ashley Koning, Director, Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling
Difficulty finding local information crosses party lines: 35% of Democrats, 38% of independents and 35% of Republicans say what they looked for was hard to find.
Asked of the 36% who said information was hard to find (380 respondents). Respondents could choose more than one.
“Many New Jerseyans are actively seeking out local information, but more than a third say what they were looking for was hard to find. That is not a partisan divide.”
— Ashley Koning
A majority say local news keeps them at least somewhat well informed, but residents are divided on whether there are enough local news sources where they live.
Democrats (49%) are more likely than independents (36%) to say there aren’t enough local news sources. Residents 65 and older (50%) and 50 to 64 (44%) are more likely than those 18 to 34 (32%) to say so.
More than twice as many New Jerseyans read news coverage of a public meeting as attended or watched one.
“Residents want reporting that helps them understand decisions affecting their schools, neighborhoods and daily lives. Investing in local journalism means giving people the information they need to participate in and strengthen their democracy.”
— Lisa Sahulka, Executive Director, New Jersey Civic Information Consortium
Choose a question to see the full results by party, gender, race and ethnicity, age, income, region and education.
Column percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding. “N” is the unweighted number of respondents in each group.
Results are from a statewide poll of 1,004 adults contacted through the probability-based Rutgers-Eagleton/SSRS Garden State Panel from Sept. 24 to 27, 2026. The survey was conducted online in English and Spanish. Data were weighted to represent the residential adult population of New Jersey. The full sample has a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points, including the design effect; margins of error for subgroups are larger.
The poll was conducted by the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (ECPIP) at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. Questions covered in this release were commissioned and paid for by the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium. Ashley Koning and Jessica Roman led analysis and preparation of the release.
Access the full press release and the complete questions and tables at the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll website.
View Full ResultsRead about the spring Rutgers-Eagleton Poll showing 65% of New Jerseyans want more news about their local area.
Read the Press ReleaseThe New Jersey Civic Information Consortium works to strengthen local journalism and civic information across the state.