America is a selfless nation. In fact, it ranked second overall in 2015’s World Giving Index and in the top 10 for two of the three charitable-giving behaviors that are tracked by the index.
Just how altruistic are Americans? 95.4 percent of households donate to charities, each contributing an annual average of $2,974. According to the National Philanthropic Trust, in 2014 alone, Americans gave more than $358 billion, 72 percent of which came directly from individuals.
Of course “charitable” behavior isn’t limited to donating money to the needy. Giving one’s time is a form of generosity as well — a contribution made by nearly 63 million people who volunteered with an organization at least once between September 2013 and September 2014. But whether to pitch in money, time or both — and the magnitude of its impact — largely depends on a donor’s particular circumstances, according to WalletHub’s Charity Calculator.
In the spirit of inspiring more Americans to increase their charitable giving this holiday season, WalletHub aimed the spotlight at the most generous of the 50 states. We analyzed a total of eight key metrics, among which are volunteer rate, the percentage of the population who donated time and money, and the median contribution to charity. Our findings, as well as expert commentary and a detailed methodology, can be found below.
