How Charitable Is Your State?

WalletHub released data in revealing the most and least charitable states in the U.S. Where does your home state fall in the ranking?

The U.S. is the “sixth-most generous country in the world” with Americans giving nearly $560 billion to charity in 2023, according to WalletHub. Some 67% of all the money raised came directly from individuals, with a combined 4.1 billion hours or volunteer-time added (with an estimated value of $122.9 billion).

The most charitable state overall was Wyoming, coming in #1 for volunteering and service ranking, and #7 for charitable giving, per the metrics used by WalletHub. The least charitable state overall was New Mexico, followed by Arizona.

“The most charitable states aren’t just the places where people give the largest raw amounts of money. The share of the population contributing and the percentage of their individual incomes they’re willing to use to help others are big factors in showing how charitable people are. In addition, many people can’t afford to give much money, especially due to the influence of inflation, but they generously donate their time, which is just as important,” wrote WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

The biggest issue facing charities across the U.S. is inflation and increased uncertainty in our financial future, says New York University professor Colin M. Slabach.

Wyoming was ranked as the most charitable state largely due to its high number of volunteer hours, as well as having such a high number of people who volunteer. People from Wyoming also “generously give money to charity as well, donating nearly 4% of their adjusted gross income on average, the second-highest percentage in the country,” WalletHub noted.

“On top of that, Wyoming has the second-most Feeding America food banks per capita, and it shelters 89% of its homeless population. This reflects efforts to care for the needy at both the individual and government levels.”

Here’s the full list: