CAMDEN -- For years, folks in South Jersey have generally believed that they get a smaller share of public goods -- such as funding for schools or roads -- than North or Central Jersey.

Two professors have just confirmed that belief.

According to a study from the Walter Rand Institute of Public Affairs at Rutgers University-Camden, South Jersey is indeed getting less.

"We found that this difference in resource allocation does in fact exist and is not explained by the lower population or incomes of residents of South Jersey counties," Institute fellow Shauna Shames told Rutgers-Camden News Now.

It isn't explained by rates of political participation, either, the study found, as the participation rates are the same across the state.

Shames co-authored the report with Spencer Clayton, a doctoral student in public affairs. The pair presented their work on the Rutgers-Camden campus Tuesday.

According to the report, the study involved a "massive data collection" and the analysis of how public funding, including county and state aid for education, transportation and public health, were distributed.

The study's findings include:

-- On average, counties in North Jersey have nearly twice as many hospital beds per 1,000 residents as South Jersey counties.

-- Counties in South Jersey counties are more likely to have a higher proportion of children who are from low-income families and are eligible for government assistance

-- Children in South Jersey are more likely to be subjected to higher rates of violent crime and higher rates off public health issues, including obesity and teen pregnancy.

-- South Jersey significantly fewer miles of bus and rail routes and fewer bus stops.

-- While school tax rates and high school graduate rates are about the same across the state, students in North and Central Jersey are far more likely on average to have gone to college.

From public polling, the study also found that while South Jersey may have believed it was getting short changed, residents in North and Central Jersey believed that resources were being shared evenly across the state.

Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.