New Jersey•In office since 2018•Party: D

Phil Murphy

Serving as Governor of New Jersey since 2018. Evaluation based on verified public data.

Overall GradeB-

58.2 / 100

Ranked #31 of 50 nationally

Economy

65.4 / 100B

Unemployment RateF

4.6%

National avg 3.9%

Rank 45 of 5011 pct

Trend since took officefrom 4.6%

Median Household IncomeA+

$97,126

National avg $74,580

Rank 2 of 5098 pct

Trend since took officefrom $80,088

Job GrowthB+

4.5%

National avg 5.5%

Rank 25 of 5052 pct

Trend since took officefrom 1.5%

Real GDP GrowthB

6.0%

National avg 8.0%

Rank 28 of 5045 pct

Trend since took officefrom 2.0%

Real Wage GrowthB

2.8%

National avg 3.0%

Rank 29 of 5044 pct

Trend since took officefrom 1.0%

Fiscal Health

36.4 / 100D

State Debt per CapitaC-

$4,500

National avg $3,580

Rank 41 of 5019 pct

Trend since took officefrom $5,200

Rainy Day FundC-

9.0%

National avg 14.0%

Rank 47 of 506 pct

Trend since took officefrom 5.0%

State & Local Tax BurdenF

13.2%

National avg 11.2%

Rank 45 of 5010 pct

Trend since took officefrom 13.1%

Credit RatingD

National avg 90

Rank 39 of 5023 pct

Trend since took officefrom 85

Quality of Life

72.0 / 100B+

Poverty RateB

10.2%

National avg 11.5%

Rank 11 of 5080 pct

Trend since took officefrom 10.0%

High School Graduation RateA-

91.0%

National avg 87.0%

Rank 5 of 5092 pct

Trend since took officefrom 90.9%

Life ExpectancyB+

79.0 yrs

National avg 77.5 yrs

Rank 8 of 5087 pct

Trend since took officefrom 80.1 yrs

Violent Crime RateA-

202 / 100k

National avg 380 / 100k

Rank 5 of 5092 pct

Trend since took officefrom 205 / 100k

Bridges in Poor ConditionB+

4.0%

National avg 6.6%

Rank 14 of 5073 pct

Trend since took officefrom 4.4%

How this grade is built

Each metric gets two scores: how the state ranks among all 50 states (60%) and how much it changed under this governor (40%). These combine into a 0–100 score per metric, averaged within three pillars — Economy, Fiscal Health, Quality of Life — then curved across the cohort so grades spread A–F.

Full methodology →