NJ's Public Bathrooms Are Among Nation's Worst, New Study Says

NEW JERSEY — Something stinks in the so-called "Armpit of America." For a state known for its highway rest stops and allowing drivers a free moment while their gas gets pumped, New Jersey's public restrooms are lacking, according to a recent survey.

Lavatory Lab, which publishes content about bath and shower products, polled 3,000 people around the nation and asked them to rate their state's public bathrooms. New Jersey scored a 5 out of 10 — 18th-worst in the United States — according to the report, released Monday.

Major issues around the nation include cleanliness, smell, privacy, and a lack of soap and toilet paper, according to the Lab. The website also pointed specifically to bathrooms which fostered strange and uncomfortable situations, including "sinks and mirrors are often situated in full view of everyone in the bathroom, meaning that you're forced to engage in a game of 'who can avoid eye contact the longest' while you're washing your hands."

But lack of accessibility is perhaps the greatest issue with public restrooms, according to Lavatory Lab. While the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that public buildings have accessible restrooms, many fall short. Issues include stalls too narrow and sinks too high for someone in a wheelchair to use.

"Public restrooms still serve a critical role in our society," said Mark Williams, a Lavatory Lab spokesperson. "Whether we like it or not, they're a necessary part of our lives and we need them to be clean, safe, and accessible."

For the top public bathrooms this nation offers, your best bets are in Vermont and Maine. Both states scored an 8 out of 10 in their restroom ratings. But you may need to tough it out in Wyoming, which earned a nation-worst 3.5 score. The national-average rating was 5 out of 10, according to Lavatory Lab.

The cities with the cleanest public toilets, however, aren't in the United States, according to rankings Lifestyle.Inq published in 2019. While New Jerseyans may not want to travel nearly 7,000 miles to relieve themselves, the website ranks Tokyo's as the world's cleanest. Common features of Tokyo toilets include bidets, artificial sounds to mask the user's noise and widespread availability throughout the world's most populous city.

You can view Lavatory Lab's map with scores for each state here.