Smokers by state

Here is a list showing for 2006 the percent of people who smoke in each U.S. state.

I was surprised to see there was not too much difference between Minnesota (18.3), Montana (19), and North Dakota (19.6). I thought Minnesota had a lower percent of smokers. For Heaven's sake, Texas has a lower percentage of smokers than Minnesota.

Thinking about it, my view of Minnesota may have been colored in that I lived in Rochester, MN. I have noticed that the higher the income and education level people have, the smaller number of people who smoke. I've noticed that blue collar workers tend to smoke more. Rochester is an abnormal town in that between all the doctors and IBM engineers, the education and income levels are well above normal.

I also was surprised to find California and Idaho ranked second and third lowest. Utah, being the lowest, is no surprise.