Although the percentage of U.S. adult smokers has declined in recent years, states still rake in enormous revenues from cigarette sales. According to SmokeFree.gov, the average retail cost of a pack of cigarettes now stands at $6.28 — with a good portion of that amount accounted for by state taxes.
Tax rates vary considerably from state to state. New York slaps a state excise tax of $4.35 on each pack, pushing the retail price of 20 cigarettes in the Empire State to $10.45 — the highest in the nation, per the Sales Tax Handbook. But everything tends to cost more in New York. (You may be surprised at how much income it takes to be considered middle class in every state.)
Connecticut, where the cost of living is lower, also charges smokers $4.35 per pack in taxes. Looking for a cheaper tobacco hit? Missouri charges only $0.17, which means you’ll pay the lowest total retail price in the U.S. — $4.38 a pack. (These are the states where Americans are paying the most tax.)
Click here to see states with the highest cigarette taxes.
As long as people light up, states will continue to fill their coffers with money generated from the taxes. The good news for the health of the nation, if not necessarily for the wealth of the states, is that as of 2019, the number of smokers in the country stood at 34.1 million, or about 14 percent of adults 18 and older. That represents a decline of 20.9 percent from 2005, according to the CDC.
The hefty price tag of a pack might be one reason for the decrease. The Cancer Action Network estimates that a 10% percent price increase in the cost of a pack of cigarettes correlates to a 2% reduction in adult smoking rates. The rate plunges even more for young adults (ages 18 to 24), to 3.25%. “States that have a higher starting pack price will actually see a larger percentage decline in smoking rates compared to states with lower starting pack prices,” the organization says.
To identify the states with the highest cigarette taxes, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the Tax Foundation’s Facts and Figures dataset for 2021. Each state’s percentage of residents who smoke is from the 2021 County Health Rankings, a collaboration between the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Source: f11photo / Getty Images
50. Missouri
> State cigarette excise tax: $0.17 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 20.8% — 11th highest
[in-text-ad]
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
49. Georgia
> State cigarette excise tax: $0.37 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 17.5% — 21st highest
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
48. North Dakota
> State cigarette excise tax: $0.44 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 18.3% — 18th highest
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
47. North Carolina
> State cigarette excise tax: $0.45 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 17.2% — 24th highest
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
45. South Carolina
> State cigarette excise tax: $0.57 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 18.8% — 15th highest
Source: vkbhat / Getty Images
45. Idaho
> State cigarette excise tax: $0.57 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 14.3% — 10th lowest
[in-text-ad]
Source: Dean_Fikar / Getty Images
43. Wyoming
> State cigarette excise tax: $0.60 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 18.7% — 17th highest
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
43. Virginia
> State cigarette excise tax: $0.60 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 16.4% — 23rd lowest
Source: benedek / Getty Images
42. Tennessee
> State cigarette excise tax: $0.62 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 22.6% — 4th highest
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
41. Nebraska
> State cigarette excise tax: $0.64 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 15.4% — 14th lowest
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
40. Alabama
> State cigarette excise tax: $0.68 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 20.9% — 10th highest
[in-text-ad]
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
39. Mississippi
> State cigarette excise tax: $0.68 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 22.2% — 6th highest
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
38. Indiana
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.00 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 21.8% — 7th highest
Source: f11photo / Getty Images
37. Louisiana
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.08 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 23.1% — 3rd highest
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
36. Kentucky
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.10 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 24.6% — 2nd highest
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
35. Arkansas
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.15 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 22.3% — 5th highest
[in-text-ad]
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
34. West Virginia
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.20 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 26.0% — the highest
Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
33. Kansas
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.29 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 17.4% — 22nd highest
Source: 4nadia / Getty Images
32. Oregon
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.33 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 16.1% — 21st lowest
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
31. Florida
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.34 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 16.1% — 22nd lowest
Source: pabradyphoto / Getty Images
30. Iowa
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.36 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 17.1% — 25th lowest
[in-text-ad]
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
29. Texas
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.41 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 15.7% — 18th lowest
Source: EunikaSopotnicka / Getty Images
28. South Dakota
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.53 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 19.3% — 14th highest
Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
27. Ohio
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.60 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 21.1% — 8th highest
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: peeterv / Getty Images
25. Montana
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.70 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 17.2% — 25th highest
Source: Adventure_Photo / Getty Images
25. Utah
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.70 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 8.9% — the lowest
[in-text-ad]
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
24. New Hampshire
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.78 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 15.7% — 17th lowest
24/7 Wall St.
Source: 4kodiak / Getty Images
23. Nevada
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.80 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 17.6% — 19th highest
Source: Planet Unicorn / Getty Images
22. Colorado
> State cigarette excise tax: $1.94 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 14.6% — 12th lowest
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: volvob12b / Flickr
16. Alaska
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.00 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 21.0% — 9th highest
Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
16. Arizona
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.00 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 15.6% — 16th lowest
[in-text-ad]
Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
16. New Mexico
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.00 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 17.5% — 20th highest
24/7 Wall St.
Source: pawel.gaul / Getty Images
16. Michigan
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.00 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 19.3% — 13th highest
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
16. Maine
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.00 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 17.3% — 23rd highest
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
16. Maryland
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.00 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 13.8% — 8th lowest
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
15. Oklahoma
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.03 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 20.1% — 12th highest
[in-text-ad]
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
14. Delaware
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.10 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 17.0% — 24th lowest
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
13. Wisconsin
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.52 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 16.0% — 20th lowest
Source: f11photo / Getty Images
12. Pennsylvania
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.60 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 18.7% — 16th highest
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
11. New Jersey
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.70 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 13.7% — 7th lowest
Source: SpVVK / Getty Images
10. California
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.87 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 11.3% — 2nd lowest
[in-text-ad]
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
9. Illinois
> State cigarette excise tax: $2.98 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 15.5% — 15th lowest
Source: thyegn / iStock via Getty Images
8. Washington
> State cigarette excise tax: $3.03 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 13.5% — 5th lowest
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
7. Vermont
> State cigarette excise tax: $3.08 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 15.8% — 19th lowest
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Eric Tessmer / Wikimedia Commons
6. Hawaii
> State cigarette excise tax: $3.20 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 12.8% — 4th lowest
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
5. Massachusetts
> State cigarette excise tax: $3.51 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 13.7% — 6th lowest
[in-text-ad]
Source: culbertson / Getty Images
4. Minnesota
> State cigarette excise tax: $3.65 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 14.5% — 11th lowest
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
3. Rhode Island
> State cigarette excise tax: $4.25 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 14.9% — 13th lowest
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
1. Connecticut
> State cigarette excise tax: $4.35 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 12.7% — 3rd lowest
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: FilippoBacci / Getty Images
1. New York
> State cigarette excise tax: $4.35 per pack
> Residents who smoke: 14.1% — 9th lowest
Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With A Financial Advisor (Sponsored)
Take the quiz below to get matched with a financial advisor today.
Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.
Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the
advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future
Take the retirement quiz right here.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Editors' Picks
