This study examined trends in substance use among 12th grade students who live in smaller places. Subjects from smaller places were defined as those residing in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan counties who reported growing up on a farm, in the country (i.e., living in an unincorporated rural area but not on a farm) or in a small town (i.e., living in a place with fewer than 50,000 residents that is not a suburb or located next to a larger place). Six types of smaller places were created from a cross-tabulation of nonmetropolitan-metropolitan status and where subjects reported growing up. Substance-use rates among 12th graders residing in these six types of smaller places from 1976 to 1997 at three-year intervals were compared, based on data available from the Monitoring the Future study. For past-year alcohol use, some differences were found by place, with farm youth showing the lowest rates. Large differences were exhibited for past-year marijuana use, both across nonmetropolitan-metropolitan status and across youth from farm, country and small-town locations within nonmetropolitan counties. Rates of past-year illicit drug use were essentially the same regardless of location. Overall, when significant differences were found, most revealed less use for the more rural location.