By Aaron Earls
Overall, the United States is one of the most generous nations in the world. The U.S. ranked second in the latest World Giving Index. But how do the states rank among themselves?
Wallet Hub, a financial information site, analyzed the World Giving Index and discovered 2016’s most (and least) charitable states. The top 10 are:
- Utah
- Minnesota
- North Dakota
- Maryland
- Oklahoma
- Delaware
- New Hampshire
- Ohio
- Wisconsin
- Arkansas
Hawaii, Nevada, Texas, California, and Arizona finished at the bottom.
The research tracked the percentage of people who say they have helped a stranger or someone they didn’t know who needed help, donated money to a charity, and volunteered time to an organization. Each nation and state is given a score for each of those categories and then ranked.
Utah has the highest score by far, as it had the highest volunteer rate, highest percentage of donated income, highest percentage of the population who claim to have donated time and highest percentage of the population who claim to have donated money.
Region of the country didn’t appear to have much influence on generosity levels. While Utah tops the list, its southern neighbor Arizona brings up the rear.
Statewide wealth had little correlation to charity. West Virginia is classified as the poorest state in America, but it was the 11th most generous. New Jersey is the richest, but only ranked as 36th in generosity.
Religious devotion wasn’t a good predictor either. Utah and Arkansas are the only states in the top 10 of most charitable and most religious. New Hampshire is the least religious state in America, but made the top 10 in giving.
AARON EARLS (Aaron.Earls@Lifeway.com) is online editor of Facts & Trends.
