Gov. Phil Murphy, the first Democrat to complete two terms as New Jersey governor in 44 years, ends his tenure with a C grade in the eyes of New Jerseyans, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll.
The poll asked residents to give Murphy a final grade for the job he has done as governor, using a standard educational grading scale ranging from A (4 points) to F (0 points). Murphy earned a C overall, with a grade-point average of 2.09. Nine percent of residents give him an A, 32% a B, 23% a C, 16% a D, and 13% an F.
The results are from a statewide poll of 1,570 New Jersey adults contacted through the Rutgers Eagleton/SSRS Garden State Panel from Dec. 29, 2025, to Jan. 6, 2026. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.6 percentage points.
“Gov. Murphy will leave office much as he entered it – a governor who rarely elicited strong reactions and generally avoided sharp swings in public opinion,” said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. “Murphy exits with the steadiest ratings of any governor in our five decades of polling. He received neither the highest nor lowest ratings of any governor on record.”
The same scale was used to grade various policy areas. Murphy mainly gets Cs across the board, but his lowest grades are on the two most important issues that have been at the top of New Jerseyans’ minds – affordability (1.32) and taxes (1.44). He receives a D+ on each of these issues.
On cost of living and affordability, 3% give him an A, 14% a B, 24% a C, 24% a D and 31% an F. One affordability issue that rankled New Jerseyans was the spike in electricity costs to customers last year.
On taxes, 5% give him an A, 17% a B, 21% a C, 19% a D and 30% an F. Murphy enacted a higher tax rate on incomes over $1 million as part of his “fairer and stronger” economic agenda, a theme he revisited during his State of the State speech. His more recent budgets introduced or expanded taxes on alcohol, real estate transfers, Internet gaming and sports betting.
On other fiscal issues, Murphy gets a C-. The outgoing governor garners a 1.98 GPA on the economy and jobs and a 1.79 GPA on the state budget and government spending.
Regarding the economy and jobs, 8% give him an A, 28% a B, 26% a C, 16% a D and 15% an F. The state’s current jobless rate is 5.4%; it was 4.4% when Murphy took office in January 2018.
On the state budget and government spending, 8% give him an A, 21% a B, 22% a C, 14% a D and 20% an F. Higher spending was linked to targeted tax increases and expanded relief programs.
“Murphy’s grades on key fiscal issues have remained largely unchanged from his first to second term, suggesting New Jerseyans saw little progress in these critical areas,” Koning said. “Addressing these same challenges will be among Gov.-elect Sherrill’s most important tasks as she takes office next week.” Sherrill is scheduled to be sworn in on Jan. 20.
Murphy also gets a C- on transportation and infrastructure (1.94). Seven percent of residents give him an A, 25% a B, 26% a C, 18% a D and 14% an F. These grades are nearly identical to those at the end of his first term on this issue. The outgoing governor cited the daunting task of fixing NJ Transit during the State of the State address: “The agency is not perfect. But it is also light years ahead of where it was. From improving reliability to replacing every single outdated bus and rail car in NJ Transit’s fleet by 2031, we have set in motion a renaissance for the nation’s third-largest public transit system.”
Murphy received his best grades on education and schools (2.11) and crime and safety (2.11), two areas he touted during his final State of the State address on Tuesday. On education and schools, 14% give him an A, 25% a B, 22% a C, 15% a D and 13% an F. Historically a best-performing area for him and his administration, Murphy’s current grades on this issue have slipped since the end of his first term. On crime and safety, 11% give Murphy an A, 31% a B, 23% a C, 14% a D and 14% an F. These grades remain virtually unchanged from 2022. Murphy
Murphy also receives a C on health care (2.09). Eleven percent of residents give him an A, 27% a B, 23% a C, 16% a D and 12% an F.
While Murphy’s percentage of As on this issue has slipped since his first term, he also has cut those giving him an F in half in the same amount of time. Murphy continues to garner middle-of-the-road favorability and approval ratings at the end of his gubernatorial tenure. He leaves office with 43% of New Jerseyans having a favorable impression of him, 32% having an unfavorable one and 23% having no opinion.
Murphy’s likeability peaked at 59% in May 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but for most of his two terms it hovered in the mid-to-upper forties. Much like throughout the rest of his tenure, Murphy’s final approval ratings are slightly better than his favorability. Forty-eight percent of residents say they approve of the way he has handled his job, 35% disapprove and 17% say they don’t know. As with favorability, Murphy reached his highest approval ratings in May 2020 (77%), but otherwise, stayed at or just above the 50% threshold for much of his tenure.
As for the direction New Jersey is headed toward as Murphy’s governorship comes to an end, residents are split: Forty-two percent say the state is going in the right direction, 43% say it has gone off on the wrong track and 16% are unsure.
