Study: Portsmouth Residents Less Generous Than Average Americans

The percentage of income Portsmouth residents give to charity is less than the national average, according to a study released today.

However, those making the least amount of money in Portsmouth give the most, percentage-wise.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy's "How America Gives" study reported that Portsmouth residents, with a median discretionary income of $59,228, had a median contribution of 2.7 percent, or $1,587, of their income to charity in 2008, the tax year for which data was collected. Portsmouth ranks 3,598 out of 28,725 communities nationwide in this regard.

By way of comparison, the county, state, and country's median contribution was 3.0 percent, 2.5 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. New Hampshire reported charitable contributions that totaled 2.5 percent of discretionary income – the lowest among the 50 states. (See chart below.)

The study is based on exact dollar amounts released by the Internal Revenue Service that show the value of charitable deductions claimed by American taxpayers in 2008. 

The Chronicle’s rankings show the percentage of their income that households donated from the money they had left after paying their taxes and covering housing, food, and other essential expenses.

Detailed data is searchable by zip code.

While The Chronicle used averages to compare towns, readers may also search by income bracket. The study shows that those making the least money in Nashua donated the largest percentage of their income. The tax returns reporting median discretionary income of $50,000 to $99,999 in Portsmouth gave an average of 3.8 percent, or $1,126.

Those making $100,000-$199,999 reportedly gave 2.6 percent and those making more than $200,000 gave 2.4 percent.