Among Most Charitable States in US, Connecticut Ranks 31st

With Americans donating hundreds of billions of dollars to charity per year, the personal-finance website WalletHub has released its report on the Most Charitable States, to highlight where people spend the most time and money helping others. Connecticut, to the surprise of many, ranked relatively low in the ranking, at number 31 in 2023, falling from number 17 in 2022.

Overall, the latest World Giving Index shows that the United States is the sixth-most generous country in the world. U.S. donors gave nearly $560 billion to charity in 2023, with 67% of the funds coming directly from individuals, according to the Giving USA.

In order to determine the most philanthropic states, WalletHub compared the 50 states across two key dimensions, “Volunteering & Service” and “Charitable Giving,” which included 17 key metrics.

Connecticut ranked 28th in Volunteering & Service and 22nd in Charitable Giving, but 31st overall. The previous year, Connecticut ranked 25th and 16th in the two categories.

“The most charitable states aren’t just the places where people give the largest raw amounts of money,” explained WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “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.”

“With inflation and economic uncertainty, many individuals and businesses have less disposable income to donate to charitable causes. As a result, charitable giving has not kept up with inflation. At the same time, economic hardship often leads to a greater need for charitable services, putting pressure on organizations to do more with potentially fewer resources. Finally, in an era of misinformation, charities must work harder to maintain transparency and the trust of donors and clients, noted Brad R. Fulton, Associate Professor at Indiana University.

The most charitable states, according to the WalletHub analysis, are Wyoming, Utah, Minnesota, Maine, Delaware, Maryland, Oregon, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Nebraska. The previous year, Utah topped the list, followed by Wyoming, Minnesota, Maryland and Maine.