NJ Makes America’s Meanest States List – Can I Change Your Mind?

It's no surprise that New Jersey was named among the meanest states in America, but what might surprise you is my argument against it.

Is New Jersey The Meanest State In America?

New Jersey residents know that our reputation precedes us. We will inevitably rise to the top of lists like "meanest state".

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In this particular case, New Jersey ranked as the 6th meanest state in America, according to Rough Maps.

Veterans of living in New Jersey know that ranking brings a little smile to your face, because we all know it could have been, and usually is, worse than that.

What Makes New Jersey One Of America's Meanest States?

Before I try to dismantle this ranking for the benefit of every New Jersey resident, let's see how it came about in the first place.

Apparently, the Garden State is not for the "faint of heart", and our brutal honesty can be a "rude wake-up call".

We are then called on the carpet for our excessive usage of our middle finger while driving around the Garden State.

The Argument For New Jersey Not Being A Mean State

While it's hard to argue with these characterizations on the surface, none of them add up to us being mean in New Jersey, and here's my reasoning.

Faint of Heart - We are honest, and we're not afraid to say, even if you didn't ask. That's not being mean. It's being...well...honest

Middle Finger - Our favorite driving salute is no different than a review on Yelp! We see your driving, we've thought about it, and now we're offering our review. If your driving is middle-finger worthy, that isn't us being mean. It's just us doing our job

My bottom line is this. If you're afraid of a little truth, and you're not a good driver, New Jersey may not be the state for you. That is not mean. That is simply New Jersey.

For the record, Missouri was named the meanest state in America, with New York a close second.