[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.

[humanrebar]

I didn't have any particularly prolific group in mind. I was thinking that ascribing birth rates to culture and morality might be premature, especially considering the low birth rates in other developed countries.

[nerfhammer]

People don't reproduce in New England apparently