Maryland One of Country's Most Generous States

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Maryland residents share their blessings.

The state ranks second in a new list of the most charitable states in the nation.

WalletHub recently conducted an in-depth analysis of 2015’s Most & Least Charitable States. Utah came in as the most generous, followed by Maryland, Idaho, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and then Georgia. Rounding out the top 10 were Washington, Oklahoma and Minnesota.

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The 10 least charitable states? Wisconsin, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, Kentucky, Arizona, California, Louisiana and Rhode Island.

WalletHub analyzed volunteer rates, the percentage of taxpayers who donated to charity and growth in charitable giving.

The study shows 95.4 percent of American households donate to charities, each contributing an annual average of $2,974. According to the National Philanthropic Trust, in 2014 alone, Americans gave more than $338 billion, 72 percent of which came directly from individuals.

Giving one’s time is a form of generosity too, the authors noted, with nearly 63 million people who volunteered with an organization at least once between September 2013 and September 2014, according to WalletHub’s Charity Calculator.