April 28, 2025 | Leave a Comment

The Biggest Smoking States (Texas Isn’t Top Ten!)

Introduction

Introduction — Surprisingly – and contrary to its reputation – Texas really doesn’t smoke that much vs. other states.

It’s in the bottom half with states like Michigan and Vermont smoking more than it does.

Let’s get to the rankings…

I bet you’ll never guess who’s #1…

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A few important data notes:

A few important data notes: — To arrive at our conclusions, which we double-checked in early 2025, we used the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Overall, about 11.5% of US adults reported smoking, according to CDC data.

So the lowest state – Utah, at 7.9% of adults smoking – is about 50% lower than the US average.

Meanwhile the highest state, reporting an adult smoking rate of 23.8%, is more than double the US rate.

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#50: Utah

#50: Utah — % of adults who smoke: 7.9%

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#49: California

#49: California — % of adults who smoke: 10%

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#48: Massachusetts

#48: Massachusetts — % of adults who smoke: 12%

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#47: Connecticut

#47: Connecticut — % of adults who smoke: 12.1%

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#46: Hawaii

#46: Hawaii — % of adults who smoke: 12.3%

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#45: Washington State

#45: Washington State — % of adults who smoke: 12.6%

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#42 (tie): New York

#42 (tie): New York — % of adults who smoke: 12.7%

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#42 (tie): Maryland

#42 (tie): Maryland — % of adults who smoke: 12.7%

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#42 (tie): District of Columbia

#42 (tie): District of Columbia — % of adults who smoke: 12.7%

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#41: Rhode Island

#41: Rhode Island — % of adults who smoke: 13.3%

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#40: Colorado

#40: Colorado — % of adults who smoke: 13.5%

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#39: Virginia

#39: Virginia — % of adults who smoke: 14%

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#37 (tied): Oregon

#37 (tied): Oregon — % of adults who smoke: 14.5%

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#37 (tied): Illinois

#37 (tied): Illinois — % of adults who smoke: 14.5%

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#36: Minnesota

#36: Minnesota — % of adults who smoke: 14.6%

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#34 (tie): Texas

#34 (tie): Texas — % of adults who smoke: 14.7%

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#34 (tie): Nebraska

#34 (tie): Nebraska — % of adults who smoke: 14.7%

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#33: Florida

#33: Florida — % of adults who smoke: 14.8%

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#32: Arizona

#32: Arizona — % of adults who smoke: 14.9%

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#31: Vermont

#31: Vermont — % of adults who smoke: 15.1%

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#30: Idaho

#30: Idaho — % of adults who smoke: 15.3%

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#29: Wisconsin

#29: Wisconsin — % of adults who smoke: 15.4%

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#28: Nevada

#28: Nevada — % of adults who smoke: 15.7%

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#26 (tie): New Hampshire

#26 (tie): New Hampshire — % of adults who smoke: 15.9%

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#26 (tie): Delaware

#26 (tie): Delaware — % of adults who smoke: 15.9%

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#25: New Mexico

#25: New Mexico — % of adults who smoke: 16%

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#24: Kansas

#24: Kansas — % of adults who smoke: 16.2%

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#23: Georgia

#23: Georgia — % of adults who smoke: 16.3%

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#22: Iowa

#22: Iowa — % of adults who smoke: 16.4%

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#21: Montana

#21: Montana — % of adults who smoke: 16.6%

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#20: North Dakota

#20: North Dakota — % of adults who smoke: 17%

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#19: Pennsylvania

#19: Pennsylvania — % of adults who smoke: 17.3%

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#18: Alaska

#18: Alaska — % of adults who smoke: 17.4%

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#17: South Carolina

#17: South Carolina — % of adults who smoke: 17.5%

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#16: Maine

#16: Maine — % of adults who smoke: 17.6%

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#15: South Dakota

#15: South Dakota — % of adults who smoke: 18.3%

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#14: Wyoming

#14: Wyoming — % of adults who smoke: 18.4%

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#13: North Carolina

#13: North Carolina — % of adults who smoke: 18.5%

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#12: Michigan

#12: Michigan — % of adults who smoke: 18.7%

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#11: Oklahoma

#11: Oklahoma — % of adults who smoke: 18.9%

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#10: Indiana

#10: Indiana — % of adults who smoke: 19.2%

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#9: Missouri

#9: Missouri — % of adults who smoke: 19.6%

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#8: Tennessee

#8: Tennessee — % of adults who smoke: 19.9%

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#6 (tie): Arkansas

#6 (tie): Arkansas — % of adults who smoke: 20.2%

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#6 (tie): Alabama

#6 (tie): Alabama — % of adults who smoke: 20.2%

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#5: Mississippi

#5: Mississippi — % of adults who smoke: 20.4%

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#4: Ohio

#4: Ohio — % of adults who smoke: 20.8%

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#3: Louisiana

#3: Louisiana — % of adults who smoke: 21.9%

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#2: Kentucky

#2: Kentucky — % of adults who smoke: 23.6%

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#1: West Virginia

#1: West Virginia — % of adults who smoke: 23.8%

West Virginia didn’t rank in the top 10 of beer-drinking states, though.

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Summary

Summary — The Top 10 are:

10) Indiana
9) Missouri
8) Tennessee
6 (tie) Arkansas
6 (tie) Alabama
5) Mississippi
4) Ohio
3) Louisiana
2) Kentucky
1) West Virginia

Perhaps surprisingly, the highest-smoking state (West Virginia at 23.8%) has three times the rate of smoking as the lowest-smoking state (Utah at 7.9%).

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A few final notes

A few final notes — One thing I’d like to see is better coverage of vaping products – certainly they seem to be pretty ubiquitous, and I’d like more information on how common their use is, especially among teenagers.

More broadly, of course, smoking is just one of many facets to health.

And that brings me to two important questions:

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Questions

Questions — Which state surprised you most?

Does the data for the state you live in ring true?

Let us know in the comments!

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