The federal government shut down for the first time in six years on Oct. 1, after Congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year. This is the 23rd funding lapse since 1976 and the 11th actual shutdown.
Officials in the Trump administration said they are freezing $18 billion in funding for several New York City-area transit projects – including the Hudson Gateway Tunnel project connecting Manhattan with New Jersey by rail that was begun in 2023.
That is the highest-profile impact of the shutdown on New Jersey. Otherwise, the shutdown appears to have had little effect on the Garden State, based on data from WalletHub. The personal-finance company released its report Oct. 15 on the “States Most & Least Affected by the 2025 Government Shutdown” and determined that New Jersey ranked 45th among the states most affected.
WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of five key metrics, ranging from each state’s share of federal jobs to federal contract dollars per capita to the share of families receiving food stamps.
The personal-finance company said New Jersey ranked 47th in share of federal jobs; 40th in access to national parks and percentage of families receiving food stamps; and 35th in federal contract dollars per capita.
“The latest government shutdown makes life stressful for people across the U.S., but places like D.C. and Hawaii, where a high percentage of residents work directly for the government or have government contracts, are getting hit the hardest,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst.
“States with a lot of residents who receive SNAP benefits, such as New Mexico, also could be in a dire situation if money for this vital program runs out before the gridlock ends. Plus, states with real estate dependent economies are suffering from federal delays in mortgage processing, and states with a lot of national parks may hurt their tourism and revenue by not being able to offer certain park services.”
Besides New Jersey, the states where the shutdown is having less of an impact are in the Midwest and Northeast – Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Indiana, Iowa and Massachusetts.
