Yikes! California One Of The Least Charitable States?

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA – It's the season of giving, and Americans are no stranger to being charitable. According to the latest World Giving Index, the United States is one of the world's most giving nations, ranking No. 5 out of 140 countries for generosity.

However, when comparing the Golden State to the rest of the country, California doesn't rank as high as you'd think. In fact, California is only the 43rd most charitable state in the U.S., according to a WalletHub study which compared 14 key indicators of charitable behavior across the states. To sharpen the blow, California is considered one of the richest and least charitable states along with New Jersey, Hawaii, Arkansas, and a handful of others.

The study also looked at the difference between the percent of the population in each state who claim to have donated money, and the percent of taxpayers who actually donated money to charity. The difference in California was a whopping 35.54%. The biggest culprit for stretching the truth about donating is North Dakota at 53.59%; the most honest state is Maryland, which was scored at 29.52%.

The top 10 most charitable states, followed by their total score (out of 100):

1. Utah, 76.90
2. Maryland, 74.14
3. Minnesota, 72.83
4. Wyoming, 71.23
5. Wisconsin, 71.13
6. Washington, 70.51
7. Virginia, 69.66
8. South Dakota, 69.35
9. Georgia, 69.20
10. Oklahoma, 69.11

Source: WalletHub

Curious about which states join California in the bottom ten? Check out the least charitable states in the country, followed by their total score (out of 100):

40. New Mexico, 60.21
41. Kentucky, 60.20
42. Montana, 58.65
43. California, 58.53
44. Florida, 58.20
45. Texas, 57.37
46. Arizona, 56.56
47. Louisiana, 56.22
48. Nevada, 56.09
49. Rhode Island, 55.15
50. Hawaii, 54.92

So, what do you think? Is the Golden State more generous than the study found, or is the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge alive and well? Let us know in the comments.

To read more about the study, visit WalletHub.

WalletHub's Methodology:

In order to determine the most philanthropic states, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states across two key dimensions, including “Volunteering & Service” and “Charitable Giving”.

They evaluated those dimensions using 14 key metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the “most charitable.”

Finally, they determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.

Volunteering & Service – Total Points: 50

• Volunteer Rate: Full Weight (~5.88 Points)
• Volunteer Retention Rate: Full Weight (~5.88 Points)
• Volunteer Hours per Capita: Triple Weight (~17.65 Points)
• Community-Service Requirement for High School Graduation: Full Weight (~5.88 Points)
• Share of Population Collecting/Distributing Food: Full Weight (~5.88 Points)
• Share of Population Collecting/Distributing Clothes: Full Weight (~5.88 Points)
• Share of Population Fundraising or Selling Items to Raise Money: Half Weight (~2.94 Points)

Charitable Giving – Total Points: 50

• Share of Income Donated: Double Weight (~17.39 Points)Note: “Income” refers to aggregate gross income.
• Share of Population Donating Time: Full Weight (~8.70 Points)Note: “Donors” refers to the percentage of the population who claim to have donated time.
• Share of Population Donating Money: Full Weight (~8.70 Points)Note: “Donors” refers to the percentage of taxpayers who donated money to charity and the percentage of the population who claim to have donated money.
• Public Charities per Capita: Half Weight (~2.17 Points)Note: “Public Charities” is based on the Internal Revenue Service’s definition of the term. Among others, these charities include “churches, hospitals, qualified medical research organizations affiliated with hospitals, schools, colleges and universities.” They do not include private foundations, most of which do not engage in “the direct operation of charitable programs.” However, religious organizations were included in the data for the following reasons: 1) the available data does not differentiate between secular charities and religious organizations, and 2) many donors and volunteers consider their contributions to such entities as “charitable giving.”
• Charity Regulations: Full Weight (~4.35 Points)
• ‘Feeding America’ Food Banks per Capita: Full Weight (~4.35 Points)
• Share of Sheltered Homeless: Full Weight (~4.35 Points)

Main image via Shutterstock; Graphic via WalletHub