Tis the season for giving, and the latest World Giving Index shows that United States rose to third place in 2022 after a significant decline in 2021 when it was ranked 19th among the most generous countries in the world. U.S. donors in 2022 gave nearly $500 billion to charity, with 64% 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 61 million people volunteer in the U.S., serving a combined total of 4.1 billion hours per year, the equivalent of $122.9 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.
Top 20 Most Charitable States
| 1. Utah | 11. Virginia |
| 2. Wyoming | 12. North Dakota |
| 3. Minnesota | 13. Colorado |
| 4. Maryland | 14. Illinois |
| 5. Maine | 15. Washington |
| 6. Delaware | 16. Missouri |
| 7. Pennsylvania | 17. Connecticut |
| 8. Oregon | 18. Nebraska |
| 9. South Dakota | 19. Georgia |
| 10. Ohio | 20. New Hampshire |
Each of the top states had their own strengths, according to Happe. “For example, Wyoming had the second-highest volunteer rate at 39.2%, but they also had the third highest number of Feeding America food banks per 1 million residents. Minnesota had the second-highest percentage of the population donating their time at 53%, while Maryland encourages volunteering in high school with their statewide requirement for community service. Maine had the fourth-highest volunteer rate at 34.9% and the third-highest amount of volunteering hours at 29.1 hours per resident aged 16 years and over.”
“Americans are donating less time and money to charitable causes. For instance, total volunteer hours dropped by 2.82 billion nationwide, a 40.7% decrease from the last survey period,” noted Happe. “People have busier schedules now and many are struggling to make ends meet with the cost of inflation, leaving them with less time and money available to donate.”
There are many organizations looking for donations of time, money or other resources, especially during the holiday season. “With nearly one million charities to choose from nationwide, deciding where to direct your donations to can be a challenge,” according to Happe.
