4 Things North and South Jersey Can’t Agree On, Starting With Breakfast Meat
New Jersey isn’t big, but you would hardly know it from the arguments.
People in the north and the south often answer the same everyday questions differently.
Neither side backs down easily.
Here’s where the two ends of the state tend to split.
1. Pork Roll or Taylor Ham
Pork roll and Taylor Ham are two names for one pork-based breakfast meat, and North and South Jersey can’t agree on which name is right.
A Rutgers-Eagleton poll from late 2015 found the state almost evenly divided, with 38% of residents saying pork roll and 35% saying Taylor Ham.
Then look at region.
In the poll, 59% of North Jersey residents said Taylor Ham, and 65% of South Jersey residents said pork roll.
Among self-identified Central Jerseyans, 45% chose pork roll and 25% chose Taylor Ham.
If you’ve lived in the state your whole life, you’re in the group where about nine in 10 take a stand.
Almost half of relative newcomers waver.
2. Convenience Store Loyalty
Wawa is the favorite convenience store of 79% of South Jersey adults, according to Monmouth University’s 2024 poll.
If you live in North Jersey, your neighbors gave Wawa 31%, just ahead of 7-Eleven at 24% and QuickChek at 19%.
In Central Jersey, 61% of adults named Wawa, which makes it the top pick of a majority there.
History plays a part.
Wawa is a relative newcomer in North Jersey, while it has had a foothold in the south since its earliest days.
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3. Fair Share of State Resources
Monmouth University's 2024 poll asked adults whether their region gets its fair share of state resources, and North and South Jersey answered differently.
If you live in South Jersey, you're in the region likeliest to say no: Only 26% said it does, while 64% said it doesn't.
North Jersey residents split evenly, with 45% saying yes and 45% saying no.
In Central Jersey, 54% of adults said their region gets its fair share.
Among South Jersey residents who feel overlooked, 89% say North Jersey gets more than its fair share.
If you're in North Jersey and feel shortchanged, you're likelier to name South Jersey at 35% than Central Jersey at 31%.
Somebody has that wrong.
Monmouth heard the South Jersey complaint in 2008, too, when 56% of South Jersey residents said their northern neighbors get more than their fair share of government money.
How Monmouth Splits North and South Jersey
Monmouth University's polls split North, Central and South Jersey by county, not by how you describe your home region.
If you live in Union County, the polls file you under North Jersey, but about half of your neighbors see themselves as living in Central Jersey.
4. Sub or Hoagie
Menus in North Jersey say "sub" while menus in South Jersey say "hoagie," according to a map that NJ 101.5 published.
Steve Chernoski built it by reading restaurant menus he found online.
Menus with "hero" showed up in Bergen County and the New York City area, and the word went beyond Bergen County.
If you're in Cape May County, menus say "hoagie" almost across the board.
Many eateries in Mercer County and deep South Jersey use both words, sub and hoagie.
It gets messy.
Giants and Eagles Fans
New Jersey's NFL fans back different teams depending on where they live, and Quinnipiac University counted the split in October 2025.
Among the poll's Philadelphia-area NFL fans, 72% picked the Eagles and 7% picked the Giants.
In the Shore group, the Giants led the Eagles 39% to 23%.
Across all NFL fans, the Giants led with 31%, followed by the Eagles at 24% and the Jets at 11%.
If you're a Giants fan in the Philadelphia-area group, you're part of a 7% minority.
Where Central Jersey Fits
Central Jersey is the home region of 34% of adults, according to Monmouth University's 2024 poll.
North Jersey drew 41% and South Jersey 23% when adults were asked to name their home region.
If you live in Ocean County, the poll files you under South Jersey, but about half of your neighbors see themselves as Central Jerseyans.
Borders blur.
Monmouth found almost the same split in 2008, with 40% saying North Jersey, 35% Central Jersey and 23% South Jersey.
Worries Along the Divide
North and South Jersey worry about different things, according to NJ Monthly's January 2023 story, which quoted the director of Fairleigh Dickinson University's FDU Poll.
In South Jersey, your neighbors say they're very concerned with drug abuse, especially opioids, along with crime and the future of agriculture.
If you live in North Jersey, your neighbors say they're very concerned with mass transit, congestion pricing in New York City and the proposed Gateway rail-tunnel project.
Dan Cassino, executive director of the FDU Poll, says those topics barely register in South Jersey.
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