Wealthier states more likely to support stricter environmental regulations
The political and economic contexts in which people live help explain differences in state-level support for stricter environmental regulations. States that voted for Democratic candidate Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election are more likely to say that stricter environmental regulations are worth the cost. For example, nearly seven-in-ten adults in Hawaii (68%) and Vermont (70%) hold this view, and both are states that backed Obama in the 2012 election by a wide margin. By contrast, those in states that voted for Republican candidate Mitt Romney in 2012 are more divided about the trade-off between the economy and environmental regulation.
State economic conditions are another factor. People living in wealthier states where per capita incomes are higher, such as New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut, tend to see environmental regulations as worth the cost. By comparison, those in poorer states such as Mississippi and Alabama are more inclined to see environmental regulations as costing too many jobs and hurting the economy.
Wealthier states more likely to support stricter environmental regulations  | 80%  | DC  | NH  | WA  | NH MD NY NU IMA  | DETAM HIRL  | IA  | me FL IA TX DETAM HIRL CA IVA  | OR me  | 60  | OR  | NM  | SUPPORT  | PACO IVA  | AK  | STRICTER  | SC  | OK  | REGULA TIONS  | SD NE  | MS  | ND  | in  | 40  | MT  | 20  | Personal income  | per capita (2014)  | $30 000  | $60 000  | $70 .000  | $40, ,000  | $50 000  | HIGHER INCOME  | Source: Survey conducted June 4 -Sept. 30, 2014 QB2c Sample size= 35, 071. Per capita personal income by state (2014)  | from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Ana lysis.  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 