For the ranking, the personal finance website evaluated each state and the District of Columbia, calculating potential monetary losses from smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. These losses included the lifetime and annual cost of smoking a pack of cigarettes per day, healthcare expenditures, income losses and other related costs.
WalletHub assumed an adult who smokes one pack of cigarettes daily beginning at age 21 and a lifespan of 48 more years.
Data sources included the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDC, the Insurance Information Institute and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Read more about the methodology here.
The 10 states with the highest cost per smoker, according to the analysis:
1. New York — $5,426,633
2. District of Columbia — $5,373,636
3. Maryland — $5,348,819
4. Massachusetts — $5,140,914
5. Rhode Island — $5,091,866
6. Connecticut — $5,035,722
7. Minnesota — $4,738,053
8. Hawaii — $4,655,966
9. Alaska — $4,568,716
10. Washington — $4,542,913
The 10 states with the lowest cost per smoker, according to the analysis:
1. South Carolina — $3,061,340
2. Alabama — $3,078,838
3. Missouri — $3,125,133
4. Mississippi — $3,140,323
5. North Carolina — $3,194,906
6. Wyoming — $3,209,145
7. West Virginia — $3,210,116
8. Tennessee — $3,239,270
9. Georgia — $3,245,347
10. Kentucky — $3,256,696
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