[monkeyspaw]

I was curious, so I looked at US fertility rates by state. Fortunately, wikipedia has a nice chart. The birth rates do appear to be higher in Western states than in the east.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territo...

[humanrebar]

It may be cultural, but it may just be economics.

I'd like to see that list controlled for cost of living. States away from the East and West Coasts tend to be much more affordable, which makes having extra kids more feasible.

http://www.missourieconomy.org/indicators/cost_of_living/ind...

EDIT: Scroll about halfway down for a ranked list similar to the one on Wikipedia.

[philwelch]

I was referring mostly to Mormons, though there's a large Catholic population from the Hispanic population in the southwest.

[nerfhammer]

People don't reproduce in New England apparently