Illinois has an excellent track record for volunteer work. In the past, the state had the highest volunteer rate among the country’s largest states. In 2015 alone, the state gave $6.5 billion in service. For 2019, they dropped down to 20 in the most charitable states, but that’s still pretty remarkable.
While they dropped down to 36 in volunteer rank, Illinois still has quite a high charitable giving ranking. WalletHub gave them a five, and to accompany that, the study found that Illinois was tied for second for the highest percent of population who donated money. Good job, Illinois!
Good job, Arkansas! The state’s shining achievement is its charitable giving ranking. It ranked 12 in the nation, meaning a ton of people gave money to charities. In fact, Arkansas was tied for first for the highest percentage of donated income. It was also ranked fifth for the highest percentage of population collecting and distributing food.
This year, Arkansas ranked 21 for volunteer rate, which is excellent considering two years prior, it was ranked 40th! Nearly 700,000 residents volunteered, which amounted to 72.9 million hours. The volunteer service was worth an estimated $1.7 billion
Not a lot of people talk about Wyoming, but we’re about to give them a good pat on the back. Residents of Wyoming have a pretty high volunteer ranking! For 2018, over 32% of Wyoming residents completed some form of volunteer work. The value of all that work is estimated to be $320.2 million.
As far as Wyoming’s charity ranking, it sits at 32. The state doesn’t give a ton of money, but at least 47% of residents donated $25 or more to a charity. All we can say is that every little bit counts toward a greater whole.
North Carolina is ranked 16 out of 50. The state’s biggest accomplishment is how much they give to charity. Ranked at 14, WRAL discovered that the state donated $43.6 million during the 12-month period from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019.
The state ranks a little lower on volunteer rank, sitting at 23. That’s still an accomplishment, though! Nearly three million people volunteered and contributed to 265.3 million hours of service. That’s estimated to be $6.4 billion in economic value!
The most charitable state in the nation is Minnesota! Did you see this one coming? The state ranked third for volunteering and service while charitable giving was fourth. We’ll start with volunteering. There were 1.9 million volunteers, who contributed 137.2 million hours of service. The economic value is estimated at $3.3 billion.
For charitable giving, Minnesotans give almost $3.4 billion to charity each year. Some other achievements include tying for first for the highest volunteer rate and ranking second in the highest percent of the population who donate time.
Ohio managed to land the fifth spot, so celebrate! The state did best with charitable giving, and we’re not surprised. Ever since 2017, the state has been steadily increasing its rank. Apparently, it isn’t rare for a third of the state’s population to collect and distribute food for charitable purposes. In 2018, Ohio even ranked as one of the largest numbers of “Feeding America” food banks per capita.
Ohio also did really well on volunteering, ranking 11. Three million people volunteered and managed to contribute 278 million hours of service. All that time is worth an estimated $6.7 billion! One reason this could be so high is due to the fact that Ohioans receive credit toward high-school graduation for service learning or community service.
Colorado has had a steady charitable ranking, having been in the top 25 for a few years now. The state ranks best in charitable giving. For 2018, the state collected $4.7 billion in donations, which went to a record 7,321 Colorado-based charities.
Colorado’s volunteer rank is 20, which is great considering in 2017, the state ranked 36 for volunteer rate. Almost 1.5 million residents volunteered 121.8 million hours of service. That service has an estimated worth of $2.9 billion.
Who would have thought Georgia would be on this list? Guess there’s something to that southern hospitality after all. For 2019, the state ranked second in charitable giving. Georgians give $7.2 billion to charity each year, representing 4.3% of household income.
Georgia ranked lower on volunteer rate. The state currently sits at 33, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t do anything! Over two million residents volunteered and racked up a massive 187.9 million hours of service. It’s estimated that those hours are worth $4.5 billion in service.
New Hampshire is ranked 11, which is a respectable overall score. First, we’ll start with the best ranking for the state: volunteering and service. The state ranked in the top 10! Like some other states on the list, New Hampshire isn’t large, so it doesn’t have millions to volunteer. That being said, nearly 400,000 people volunteered 36.6 million hours of service, amounting to a worth of $884.4 million.
Now onto New Hampshire’s charitable giving ranking. The ranking for this category was 25, which is pretty middle-of-the-road. Regardless of its ranking, New Hampshire tied for second for highest percent of the population who donates money.
Maine landed pretty high on WalletHub’s most charitable states ranking! The state sits at 11, and the answer why is obvious. The state’s biggest achievement is that they volunteer a lot. Even though they’re such a small state, over 400,000 Mainers volunteered and contributed 39.2 million hours of service that was worth an estimated $947.6 million.
The Pine Tree state ranked 28 in charitable giving, but that’s still decent overall. What Maine can really be proud of is the fact it’s fifth for most charities per capita. That’s a good start on the road to becoming one of the most charitable states in the nation.
WalletHub put Wisconsin at 17, and we can see why. Wisconsin had over 1.7 million volunteers, which is about 37% of its residents. Overall, the state contributed to 164.3 million hours worth of service, which amounts to an estimated $3.9 billion in economic value.
On top of that, the state is pretty giving, too. For 2019, they ranked 22 for charity. The Corporation for National and Community Service found that at least 57% of residents donated $25 or more to charity. In the past, Wisconsin ranked a little higher, but they’ve almost always sat near the top 20.
Virginia is proud to be in the top 10. In fact, the state is eighth, mostly due to its charitable giving rank. It’s the third most giving state in the nation! This is up quite a bit from 2017 when their ranking was seven. Things in Virginia just keep getting better. Virginians give over $5.6 billion to charity each year, representing 2.85% of household income
As far as volunteering, Virginia ranked 28. Not great, but the numbers are still pretty impressive. Around 2.2 million people volunteered with 231.7 million hours completed. That service is estimated to be worth $5.5 billion!
Oregon did really well in one area, but not so great in the other. We’ll start with where they shine: volunteering. They were actually first in the nation. There were over 1.4 million volunteers this year, which accounts for 43% of the state! They contributed 177.7 million hours of service, which had an economic value of $4.2 billion.
Where Oregon struggled was their “charitable giving” rank. They landed at 37, which makes it surprising that they’re the fourth most charitable state in the nation. In the past, Oregon ranked much higher, so we’re not too sure what happened with this year.
North Dakota made it to seventh for most charitable states in the nation. The state did best with volunteering and service, ranking fifth. As if that weren’t enough, North Dakota ranked first in the highest percent of the population collecting and distributing food.
What North Dakota didn’t rank best on was it’s “charitable giving” rank. Here, the state landed at 29. Still, it’s a lot better than it did in the past! In 2017, North Dakota was ranked 39, so we’re going to chalk this is up as a win. North Dakotans give $309.9 million to charity each year, representing 2.54% of household income
Pennsylvania did really well in both categories. Its best category was charitable giving, 11 out of 50. That’s pretty surprising considering Philadelphia also ranked as one of the cities with the lowest charitable donations as a percent of income. Pennsylvanians give almost $6.5 billion to charity each year, representing 2.68% of household income.
Pennsylvania also did really well with volunteering. Over 3.5 million people volunteered in the state, amounting to 341 million hours of service. That time is worth an estimated $8.2 billion.
Maryland is where we get into single digits for both categories. Maryland ranked fourth for volunteering and service. The state accumulated 181.9 hours, worked by 1.7 million volunteers – 36% of Maryland’s population. All that service had an estimated value of $4.3 billion.
For Maryland’s charitable giving, it landed seventh. The Old Line state also tied for fourth for the highest percent of the population who donate money! Independent Sector found that residents give an estimated $5.3 billion to charity each year.
Utah has some serious bragging rights. Ranked second overall, the state also ranks second in volunteering and service. Would you believe us when we tell you that 51% of the residents volunteer? Overall, they accumulated 133.9 million hours of service, which is worth an estimated $3.2 billion. Nearly 70% of residents donate $25 or more to charity.
Onto the charitable giving rank – Utah landed eighth! Utahans give over $3.3 billion to charity each year, which represents 6.7% of household income. Utah also tied for first for highest volunteer rate, the highest percentage of donated income, the highest percent of the population who donate time, and the highest percent of population collecting and distributing food.
Alaska isn’t known for a lot, but that’s about to change. The state ranked 12 on the most charitable states. Furthermore, residents have a lot to be proud of since they ranked seventh for volunteer rate. They’re a small state, so only 222,000 residents volunteered, but that’s 40.6% of the population! They worked 24.6 hours, which amounted to $594.7 million in economic value.
Alaska has been working pretty hard in the last few years. In 2017, the state ranked 40th for charitable giving, but this year, they sit at 31. That’s a big difference, but Alaska still ranked as second for lowest percentage of donated income.
Washington landed at nine! This state is unlike many of the others considering it was pretty even with both volunteer rank and charitable giving rank. We’ll start with where they ranked slightly higher, which is volunteering.
Ranking at 17, the state had over two million volunteers, who contributed 202.2 million hours of service. That’s an estimated $4.8 billion in service. As far as charitable giving, Washington was 18th, with 55.7% of residents donating $25 or more to charity. Washingtonians also give $4.4 billion to charity each year, representing 3.08% of household income
Is New York a surprising entry? Despite the state having a reputation of being rude, they’re actually pretty giving. For 2019, New York ranked first in charitable giving! This is a lot better than in 2015 when they ranked 28. Talk about improvement!
The only thing about New York is that the residents aren’t known for volunteering. Out of 50 states, New York’s volunteer ranking was 45 – oof! Thankfully, that high charity ranking caused them to be one of the most charitable states in the nation.
