Wait — NJ is friendlier than NY? Fuhgeddaboudit, New Yorkers say: ‘I’ve never met anyone nice from New Jersey’

Dukes up for a bridge-and-tunnel battle.

Perhaps unsurprising to many, tropical paradise Hawaii has been crowned the friendliest state in America, according to a recent study.

But in a head-tilting move, New York was deemed the third-friendliest behind second-place finisher … New Jersey?

“I’ve never met anyone nice from New Jersey,” Keith Toliver, 74, pointedly told The Post — with a smile — while passing through Penn Station this week. He was among those The Post randomly polled about the scandalous finding from bespoke travel site Journeyscape, which analyzed Reddit posts, the number of visitors from overseas, LGBTQ+ equality and “happiness” scores from WalletHub.

“I think New York is a better place to be,” the native New Yorker added.

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“New York gets a bad rap,” said New Jersey commuter Michael Claps, 63, who previously lived in the Empire State. “It’s really third? That’s shocking.”

Even though he now lives across the river, he had no problem defending his former state of residence.

“I think New York people are super friendly,” he declared, adding with a laugh, “the ones I know, at least.”

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However, Devika Kumar, who grew up in New Jersey but now lives in NYC, believes that her current stomping grounds are “just as nice” as her home state.

“It has a bad reputation, but people are really, really kind, you know?” the 27-year-old told The Post. “People are very welcoming and friendly. I mean, you talk to me, I’m here, I’ll give you directions.

“We can have an abrasive front, I think, and come across a little bit hard to approach, but we’re actually nice people in the world,” she continued.

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Ex-New Yorker Dylan Layman, 31 — who was visiting from Montana — agreed, adding that both states have “had a bad rep for decades” and specifically believes it’s “outdated” to think the Big Apple and its neighbor are rude.

He added that the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple is key to its affability.

“I think it helps that they see more people in a day,” he explained. “The more people you see in a day, the more chances you have to be friendly.”

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Laura, a 60-year-old New Jersey native who preferred not to reveal her last name, agreed that New York is not that standoffish.

“If you’re walking down the street and you smile at someone, they’re gonna smile back.”

However, after a pause, she noted that New York is “probably” friendlier than its neighboring state.

“I think New York’s probably a little tougher, maybe people aren’t as friendly [as] they could be,” she said. “But again, if you put a smile on your face and say, ‘Hello,’ they’ll talk or they’ll smile back.”

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San Francisco resident Shafeeq Ibraheem, 29, was pleasantly surprised to find New Yorkers very friendly and helpful during his trip from the West Coast. He even revealed that people helped him carry his luggage through the subway and otherwise helped him get around. (To be honest, even we’re a little shocked by that.)

He did, however, offer one clarification.

“California is nice but not kind,” he said, “and New York is kind but not nice.”

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But let’s be real.

There are friendly and unfriendly people everywhere you go, according to Jersey guy Andrew Fernandez.

“I’ve been around in different parts of Jersey, and you’re going to meet a lot of different people that are more friendly than they are in different areas,” he summed things up for The Post, adding, “And sometimes when you travel to different parts of New York, you’ll meet some rude people.”

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Here are the top 10 friendliest states to visit, according to Journeyscape:

1. Hawaii
2. New Jersey
3. New York
4. California
5. Nevada
6. Massachusetts
7. Arizona
8. Illinois
9. Utah
10. Virginia