Charitable Giving & Volunteer Service? Connecticut Ranks Middle of the Pack

Connecticut ranks 30th in volunteering and 21st in charitable giving, providing the state with an overall ranking of 26th in newly released ranking of 2019’s Most Charitable States.

Overall, the leading states were Minnesota, Utah, Maryland, Oregon, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Virginia, Washington and Maine. Massachusetts ranked 24th; New York was 19th. The leading state in Volunteering & Service was Oregon; in Charitable Giving it was New York (which ranked 45th in Volunteering & Service.

Among the underlying categories, Connecticut had some stand-out rankings. The state ranked first in the U.S. in the average amount of money that people would lend their neighbors in need – $410.14. And Connecticut ranked 2nd in its community-service requirement for high school graduation and 3rd in the share of the population donating money. At the other end of the spectrum, the state ranked 46th in the share of the population collecting or distributing clothes, and 49th in the share of the population fundraising or selling items to raise money.

Nearly half of state residents – 47.6% - say they do favors for their neighbors, but that percentage ranks Connecticut 41st among the states.

"Connecticut ranks in the middle of the pack when it comes to being charitable,” said Jill Gonzalez, analysts for the financial website WalletHub, which conducted the analysis. “One of the state's strongest suits is the fact that credits are given towards graduation for community service. Other factors that show Connecticut's residents are willing and able to donate include the large amount of money that people would lend their neighbors in need -- over $400 -- and the large share of population donating money. The state also has a high number of public charities per capita, that are required to register as such, as well as several 4-star charities per capita.”

“On the other hand, there are things that kept Connecticut from ranking higher,” she further explained. “These are the low percentage of residents who do favors for their neighbors, who collect and distribute clothes and who raise funds or sell items to raise money."

Nationwide, nearly 63 million people volunteer in the U.S., serving a combined total of 7.9 billion hours per year, the equivalent of $184 billion of service, WalletHub reports.

The WalletHub report also looked at data on Millennial volunteering between 2011 and 2015, and saw little change in Connecticut. In 2015, Connecticut ranked 15th with a Millennial volunteer rate at 25.3%. In 2014 it was slightly higher, at 26.5%, and the state ranked 16th. In 2011 the state had ranked 19th with a 23.9% volunteer rate.