American Charitable Places: The 15 Most Charitable

American Charitable Places: It’s “Giving Season” for nonprofits and social groups right now, with the holidays in full swing. This is one of the busiest times of the year for charities in the U.S.

The season began on November 28 with “Giving Tuesday” and ends on December 31. Network for Good says that 30% of all the money that nonprofits get each year comes during this time.

Giving Season is one of the best times to help nonprofits, no matter what they do, where they work, or what issues they focus on. It’s also when the most charitable cities in the country are busiest. These are the cities where the biggest percentage of taxpayers give to charity.

Even though grants, events, and earned income can help charities raise money, individual donations are still a big part of most of their income.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says that Americans give more than $215 billion to charity every year, but a larger share of that number comes from certain groups of people.

Here is a list of the most charitable cities in the United States, based on the number of taxpayers who report giving to charity.

1. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

• The percentage of tax returns that include donations to charity: 41.2%.
• $22.08 in charitable donations for every $1,000 in total income
• Average Contribution Amount for Donors: $5,505
• Total donations to charity: $7,406,725,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: 1,345,350

2. Birmingham and Hoover, AL

• Number of tax returns with donations to charity: 40.9%
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $28.98
• The average amount that donors give is $5,187.
• Total donations to charity: $1,076,442,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: $207,530

3. Baltimore, Columbia, and Towson, MD

• Number of tax returns with donations to charity: 40.6%
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $18.78
• The average amount that donors give is $3,913.
• Total donations to charity: $2,270,591,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: $580,340

4. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

• Number of tax returns with donations to charity: 40.1%
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $17.62
• The average amount that donors give is $5,055.
• Total donations to charity: $5,235,322,000
• Number of tax returns with donations to charity: $1,035,620

5. CA: San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley

• Number of tax returns with donations to charity: 40.0%
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $23.29
• The average amount that donors give is $8,988.
• Total donations to charity: $8,562,015,000
• Tax Returns With Donations to Charity: $952,580

6. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

• The percentage of tax returns that include donations to charity is 39.8%.
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $14.93
• The average amount that donors give is $3,318.
• Total donations to charity: $2,494,554,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: $751,760

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7. Philadelphia, Camden, Wilmington, PA, NJ, DE, and MD

• Percentage of Tax Returns With Charitable Contributions: 39.2%
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $14.18
• The average amount that donors give is $3,143.
• Total donations to charity: $3,828,877,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: $1,218,280

8. Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT

• Number of tax returns with donations to charity: 38.8%
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $1,857
• The average amount that donors give is $8.86.
• Total donations to charity: $458,233,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: $246,740

9. In San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara, CA

• Tax returns had charitable contributions: 38.7%
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $36.27
• The average amount that donors give is $17,825
• Total donations to charity: $6,801,782,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: $381 590

10. Raleigh and Cary, NC

• Percentage of Tax Returns With Charitable Contributions: 38.2%
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $15.34
• The average amount that donors give is $3,509.
• Total donations to charity: $931,033,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: $265,330

11. Folsom, Roseville, and Sacramento, CA

• Number of tax returns with donations to charity: 36.7%
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $12.33
• The average amount that donors give is $2,603.
• Total donations to charity: $1,124,291,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: $431 910

12. IL, IN, WI: Chicago, Naperville, and Elgin

• The percentage of tax returns that include donations to charity is 36.5%.
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $15.26
• The average amount that donors give is $3,554.
• Total charity given: $6,184,379,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: 1,740,170

13. Milwaukee and Waukesha, WI

• Number of tax returns with donations to charity: 36.4%
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $14.09
• The average amount that donors give is $2,931.
• Total donations to charity: $855,359,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: $291,840

14. Richmond, VA

• Number of tax returns with donations to charity: 36.3%
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $16.57
• The average amount that donors give is $3,493.
• Total donations to charity: $845,770,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: 242,100

15. New York, Newark, and Jersey City, NY, NJ, and PA

• Number of tax returns with donations to charity: 36.3%
• Giving to charity for every $1,000 in total income: $17.27
• The average amount that donors give is $4,593.
• Total donations to charity: $17,053,157,000
• Total tax returns with donations to charity: 3,713,070

Methods

The data used in this study comes from the 2020 Individual Income Tax Return Form 1040 data set from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Upgraded Points researchers found the most charitable places in the U.S. by looking at the percentage of tax returns that included charity donations. This included both standard deduction and itemized deduction tax returns.

If there was a tie, the place that gave more to charity as a percentage of its total adjusted gross income got the better spot.

Researchers also found the average contribution amount. The calculation for this involved dividing the total amount of charitable contributions by the total number of tax returns that did so.