New Jerseyans worry about traffic delays, transit crowding and impact on local emergency services; more are following news about the event’s impact than the sport itself

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (June 5, 2026) – As the FIFA World Cup prepares to take over North America, New Jersey voters say the matches taking place on home turf may provide at least a little economic stimulus to New Jersey and New York but have trepidation over the travel and local service headaches the games may cause, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll.

Sixty-four percent of New Jersey voters (25% “a lot,” 39% “a little”) say hosting World Cup matches in New Jersey will help the state’s economy, 16% say it will have “no real effect” and 12% say it will hurt the state economically to some degree (5% “a lot,” 7% “a little”). A similar number say the same about the matches’ impact on New York’s economy: Twenty-six percent say it will “help a lot,” 38% say it will “help a little,” 16% say “no real effect,” 4% say “hurt a little” and 3% say “hurt a lot.”

Three-quarters are concerned (49% “very,” 26% “somewhat”) about traffic and travel delays while World Cup matches take place in New Jersey. Sixty-four percent are concerned about NJ TRANSIT crowding (36% “very,” 28% “somewhat”). Six in 10 are concerned (28% “very,” 32% “somewhat”) at some level about the matches’ impact on local emergency services.

“New Jersey voters see the World Cup as a likely economic win for the region, even as many are tuning out the tournament itself,” said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (ECPIP) at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. “What they are paying attention to is what it will mean for getting around the state. Voters welcome the boost but are bracing for the traffic, the transit crowding, and the strain on local services that come with it.”

When it comes to news on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, New Jerseyans are mainly tuned out to information about the tournament itself, such as the teams, players and matches. Eight percent say they are following “very closely,” 17% “somewhat closely,” 28% “not too closely” and 45% “not closely at all.” Nearly half, on the other hand, are following news about the impact of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on New Jersey to some extent: Sixteen percent say they are following news about how the matches may affect travel, security, traffic and the economy “very closely,” 33% say they are following this kind of news “somewhat closely,” 24% say “not too closely” and 26% say “not closely at all.”

Two percent of New Jersey voters say they plan on attending a match at MetLife Stadium, 4% plan to attend a fan zone or watch party in New Jersey and 34% say they will watch the matches at home. Sixty-two percent say they will not take part in any of these World Cup activities.

Brazil is the favorite to win the World Cup among New Jersey voters, at 23%. The United States comes in second, at 19%. France, Spain, and Argentina each garner 9%. The favorites change based on how closely the poll’s respondents say they are following news surrounding the World Cup. Among those who say they are following World Cup news “very” or “somewhat” closely, Brazil remains the favorite at 24% while the United States drops to 8%. France moves to second with 15%, followed by Spain at 14% and Argentina at 12%.

“New Jerseyans have relatively high hopes about the U.S.’s chances going into the tournament, though that optimism softens among those paying the closest attention,” said David Martin, a research associate at ECPIP. “Fans following the tournament most closely tend to favor traditional heavyweights like Brazil, France, and Spain, but there is still plenty of optimism about this young U.S. team."

Concern about the World Cup's local impact divides most sharply by age. Younger voters are far more worried about logistics than their older counterparts. Sixty-seven percent of voters ages 18 to 34 are "very concerned" about traffic and travel delays, compared with 39% of those 65 and older and 52% are "very concerned" about NJ TRANSIT crowding, versus 25% of the oldest voters. Partisan differences are more modest, surfacing mainly in intensity, with Republicans the most likely to say they are "not at all concerned" about crowing on NJ TRANSIT (29%).

Economic expectations and predictions about the tournament's outcome vary little across demographic groups.

Results are from a statewide poll of 859 registered voters in New Jersey from May 15 to May 19. The full registered voter sample has a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percentage points.