For cheap smokes and hockey, meet me in St. Louis

[stlbluz]

By Martin Wolk, msnbc.com's business editor

You probably already know that you pay more for gas than drivers do in a neighboring state. Or perhaps you have a nagging sense of being overtaxed, especially compared with residents in some other, more enlightened part of the country.

Now the good folks at WalletPop have taken a look at this “geography pricing gap” for 10 different items ranging from cigarettes to car insurance.

Among the results: New York state has the highest taxes on cigarettes at $4.35 a pack, while smokes are likely to be far cheaper in Missouri, where the tax is only 17 cents per pack (not including the federal excise taxt of $1.01 a pack imposed nationwide.)

In Hawaii, it’s a good thing that residents don’t have to drive to far or worry about heating their homes because the island state lands at the top of the list for gasoline, electricity and natural gas prices. Hawaiians do enjoy relatively low tax rates, according to WalletPop, except when it comes to beer, which is taxed at 93 cents per gallon, compared with 2 cents in Wyoming, the cheapest state for suds.

Gasoline is cheapest in New Jersey, but Jersey residents more than make up for it by paying through the nose for car insurance. The average yearly premium in the Garden State is $2,468, nearly double the national average and nearly triple Indiana’s average premium of $916.

Other items on the list include hockey tickets (cheapest in St. Louis) and speeding tickets (cheapest in Texas).

To see if your state or city is listed, check the complete list at WalletPop.

[philco_3]

[stlbluz]

Just pointing out that, according to this article, we still have the cheapest hockey tickets. Add in the low cigarette price and you've got the perfect storm for a Dirt Cheap advertising blitz.

[thedoc]

Alright good stuff, thanks for the update.

[stlbluz]

Tough crowd.

\Takes ball & leaves.

[glen a richter]

Conversely, you will pay out the ass for hockey tickets (and everything else) in NY.