You'll find a strong blue/white collar divide here, which also tends to follow rural/urban lines. Once you get into the trades and workshops, cash is king for

You'll find a strong blue/white collar divide here, which also tends to follow rural/urban lines. Once you get into the trades and workshops, cash is king for obvious tax avoidance reasons. It's rare someone in such regions doesn't at least imply you can pay a portion of an invoice/bill with cash for a moderate discount. Small shops in those areas might be more apt to only accept cash, and you'll notice at chain stores like Dollar Tree the cashiers actually have cash handling skills vs. the affluent areas of the cities. For most places within the airline network, you can easily avoid paying cash these days. I still recommend anyone who travels keep enough cash on them to get back home in a pinch, if at all practical. This is personal anecdote, but I make it a point to pay cash whenever at all possible (to the point of being "that guy" in my friend group) so I likely pay attention to it more than most.