’Tis the season for giving, and the latest World Giving Index shows that the United States is falling behind – dropping to 19th place among the most generous countries after years at the top of the list. However, U.S. donors in 2020 still gave nearly $485 billion to charity, with 67% of the funds coming directly from individuals, according to the National Philanthropic Trust.
Americans do more than just reach in their pockets to help others, though. They also contribute their time — and plenty of it. Nearly 78 million people volunteer in the U.S., serving a combined total of 5.8 billion hours per year, the equivalent of $147 billion of service.
In the spirit of inspiring altruism, WalletHub determined the most charitable of the 50 states by comparing them across 19 key indicators of charitable behavior. Our data set ranges from the volunteer rate to the share of income donated to the share of sheltered homeless.
Want to give back instead of receiving this holiday season? Use WalletHub’s Charity Calculator to help you determine how best to pitch in, depending on your resources and availability. You can also see where your money will be used most effectively by reading WalletHub’s report on the Best Charities for 2023.
Main Findings
Most Charitable States in America
| Overall Rank* | State | Total Score | Volunteering & Service | Charitable Giving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah | 70.99 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | Maryland | 67.94 | 5 | 3 |
| 3 | Minnesota | 66.41 | 3 | 7 |
| 4 | North Dakota | 65.00 | 4 | 13 |
| 5 | Oregon | 63.23 | 1 | 40 |
| 6 | Wyoming | 62.96 | 14 | 6 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 62.38 | 12 | 11 |
| 8 | Delaware | 62.02 | 9 | 20 |
| 9 | Ohio | 62.00 | 11 | 17 |
| 10 | Virginia | 61.42 | 28 | 2 |
| 11 | Maine | 61.28 | 6 | 29 |
| 12 | Alaska | 60.83 | 7 | 31 |
| 13 | Colorado | 59.63 | 20 | 8 |
| 14 | New Hampshire | 59.43 | 10 | 33 |
| 15 | Washington | 58.66 | 17 | 27 |
| 16 | Texas | 58.14 | 25 | 15 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 57.57 | 24 | 19 |
| 18 | Arkansas | 57.56 | 21 | 24 |
| 19 | New York | 57.46 | 45 | 1 |
| 20 | Massachusetts | 56.71 | 41 | 5 |
| 21 | Nebraska | 56.57 | 13 | 43 |
| 22 | Connecticut | 56.50 | 30 | 16 |
| 23 | Georgia | 56.46 | 34 | 9 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 56.44 | 19 | 30 |
| 25 | Iowa | 56.22 | 31 | 18 |
| 26 | Oklahoma | 56.08 | 22 | 28 |
| 27 | South Dakota | 56.01 | 15 | 42 |
| 28 | Illinois | 56.01 | 36 | 12 |
| 29 | Missouri | 55.49 | 32 | 23 |
| 30 | Indiana | 55.25 | 16 | 45 |
| 31 | Idaho | 55.20 | 8 | 49 |
| 32 | New Jersey | 55.05 | 33 | 22 |
| 33 | Florida | 55.03 | 40 | 14 |
| 34 | Montana | 54.91 | 18 | 38 |
| 35 | Vermont | 54.81 | 26 | 34 |
| 36 | Kentucky | 54.07 | 23 | 36 |
| 37 | Kansas | 53.71 | 39 | 25 |
| 38 | Tennessee | 52.93 | 37 | 32 |
| 39 | Michigan | 52.87 | 42 | 26 |
| 40 | Hawaii | 51.87 | 29 | 44 |
| 41 | Alabama | 51.36 | 46 | 21 |
| 42 | California | 50.97 | 50 | 10 |
| 43 | South Carolina | 50.94 | 38 | 37 |
| 44 | West Virginia | 50.28 | 27 | 48 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 50.03 | 44 | 35 |
| 46 | Nevada | 48.87 | 35 | 46 |
| 47 | Louisiana | 47.13 | 47 | 39 |
| 48 | Mississippi | 45.96 | 49 | 41 |
| 49 | New Mexico | 44.74 | 48 | 47 |
| 50 | Arizona | 42.77 | 43 | 50 |
*No. 1 = Most Charitable
With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.
- Highest
- 1. Utah
- 2. Minnesota
- 3. Oregon
- 4. Iowa
- 5. Alaska
- Lowest
- 46. California
- 47. New York
- 48. Nevada
- 49. Mississippi
- 50. Florida
- Highest
- T-1. Utah
- T-1. Wyoming
- 3. Georgia
- 4. Arkansas
- 5. Maryland
- Lowest
- 46. New Hampshire
- 47. Rhode Island
- 48. Maine
- 49. Alaska
- 50. West Virginia
- Highest
- 1. Utah
- 2. Minnesota
- 3. New Hampshire
- 4. Montana
- T-5. Hawaii
- T-5. Nebraska
- Lowest
- 46. Arizona
- T-47. Mississippi
- T-47. Rhode Island
- 49. Nevada
- 50. Kentucky
- Highest
- 1. Maryland
- 2. Utah
- 3. Virginia
- 4. California
- 5. New Jersey
- Lowest
- 46. Louisiana
- 47. Alaska
- 48. Arkansas
- 49. Kentucky
- 50. West Virginia
- Highest
- 1. North Dakota
- 2. Indiana
- 3. Ohio
- 4. South Dakota
- 5. Arkansas
- Lowest
- 46. Colorado
- 47. Alaska
- 48. Arizona
- 49. New Mexico
- 50. Rhode Island
- Most
- T-1. Vermont
- T-1. Montana
- T-1. Delaware
- 4. Wyoming
- 5. Rhode Island
- Fewest
- 46. Louisiana
- 47. New Mexico
- 48. Mississippi
- 49. Arizona
- 50. Utah
Difference Between the Percent of Population Who Claim to Have Donated Money and the Percent of Taxpayers Who Donated Money to Charity
Note: A rank of 1 on the “Most and Least Charitable States Overall Ranking” axis refers to the most charitable state, while a rank of 1 on the “Richest and Poorest States Overall Ranking” axis refers to the richest state.
Generosity of Red vs. Blue
Ask the Experts
Not all charities are created equal. Choosing among them — in addition to deciding whether to give money, time or both and how much — can be a challenge. To help donors plan ahead and to provide insight on various charity issues, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:
- What are the biggest challenges facing U.S.-based charities in the current economic environment?
- What percentage of income should households donate to charity?
- What advice do you have for choosing the right charity?
- Do you believe charities should face increased regulations and scrutiny in order to reduce fraud?
- Should all non-profits be able to receive tax-deductible contributions regardless of their mission?
Ask the Experts
Ph.D., CNP – Assistant Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management, School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences – University of Texas at Dallas
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Department Chair; Associate Professor, Sociology Department – Brigham Young University
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Adjunct Associate Professor of Law – American University Washington College of Law, Senior Associate, Tax-Exempt Organizations – Goodwin Procter LLP
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Ph.D. – Associate Professor & MPA Program Director, School of Public Affairs and Administration – Rutgers University – Newark
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Ph.D. – Professor of Public & Nonprofit Management, George W. Romney Research Fellow at Romney Institute of Public Management, Marriott School of Management – Brigham Young University
Read More
Ph.D. – Director, Professor and Advisor, Nonprofit and Community Leadership Concentration – School of Strategic Leadership Studies, James Madison University
Read More
Methodology
In order to determine the most philanthropic states, WalletHub compared the 50 states across two key dimensions, “Volunteering & Service” and “Charitable Giving.”
We evaluated those dimensions using 19 key metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the “most charitable.”
Finally, we determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.
Volunteering & Service – Total Points: 50
- Volunteer Rate: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Volunteer Retention Rate: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Volunteer Hours per Capita: Triple Weight (~12.50 Points)
- Community-Service Requirement for High School Graduation: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Share of Population Who Do Favors for Their Neighbors: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Amount of Money that People Would Lend Their Neighbors in Need: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Share of Population Collecting/Distributing Food: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Share of Population Collecting/Distributing Clothes: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Share of Population Fundraising or Selling Items to Raise Money: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Share of Residents Who Engage in General Labor (Supply Transportation for People): Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
Charitable Giving – Total Points: 50
- Share of Income Donated: Double Weight (~11.11 Points)
Note: “Income” refers to aggregate gross income. - Share of Population Donating Time: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
Note: “Donors” refers to the share of the population who claim to have donated time. - Share of Population Donating Money: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
Note: “Donors” refers to the share of taxpayers who donated money to charity and the percentage of the population who claim to have donated money. - Public Charities per Capita: Half Weight (~2.78 Points)
Note: “Public Charities” is based on the Internal Revenue Service’s definition of the term. Among others, these charities include “churches, hospitals, qualified medical research organizations affiliated with hospitals, schools, colleges and universities.” They do not include private foundations, most of which do not engage in “the direct operation of charitable programs.” However, religious organizations were included in the data for the following reasons: 1) the available data does not differentiate between secular charities and religious organizations, and 2) many donors and volunteers consider their contributions to such entities as “charitable giving.” - 4-Star Charities per Capita: Half Weight (~2.78 Points)
- Charity Regulations: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
- Google Search Interest for “Charitable Donations”: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
Note: This metric measures the real intent of the population to find information using the following search terms: “volunteer”, “non profit organizations”, “charity”, “charitable donations” and “charitable organizations”. “Real intent” is measured using the average monthly search volumes for those specific terms. - ‘Feeding America’ Food Banks per Capita: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
- Share of Sheltered Homeless: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Corporation for National & Community Service, Education Commission of the States (ECS), Harbor Compliance, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Internal Revenue Service, Feeding America, Charity Navigator, Windows USA, Google Ads and Gallup.
Supporting Video Files:
- YouTube - National (for web embedding)
- YouTube - Utah (for web embedding)
- Raw video files (for editing into clips)