Most Generous States (2026): Which States Lead in Charity, Volunteering & Civic Engagement

American generosity is thriving in 2026. Charitable giving by individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations to U.S. charities increased 5.7% in current dollars to an estimated $617.20 billion in 2025 , part of our expanding volunteer and nonprofit statistics hub. Yet this national momentum masks a striking reality: generosity varies dramatically by state. Some states lead in raw giving volume; others shine in volunteer participation and per-capita sacrifice. This report maps America's most generous states across both dimensions—wealth and work—revealing which communities are truly stepping up for their neighbors.

Key takeaways

The Top 3 Most Generous States: A Tale of Two Types

Wyoming leads with high annual volunteer hours (29 per resident) and nearly 4 percent of adjusted gross income donated to charity. Wyoming tops the list of states for the most giving per person with residents donating an average of $2,088 each year. This ranking reflects a holistic measure of generosity—not just total dollars, but sacrifice relative to means and time freely given.

Utah ranks second with the nation's highest volunteer rates (nearly 40.7 percent) and substantial income donations; Utahans give around 3.5–3.89 percent of their income to charity. Utah boasts the highest volunteer rate at roughly 47% and the most volunteer hours per capita at over 46 hours. Maryland is the third most charitable state in the nation with the highest percentage of taxpayers who donate money to charity, exceeding 16%.

How Metrics Define "Most Generous": Money vs. Time

Generosity comes in two currencies: wallet and work. The 2026 Total Civic Generosity Report scores each state across two equally weighted dimensions: Wallet (financial giving) and Work (service and community engagement). The Wallet Score measures the financial sacrifices residents make relative to their means, comprising Charitable deductions as a percentage of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), drawn from IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) data.

This distinction matters profoundly. New York ranks 2nd in total charitable giving—thanks to its massive concentration of wealth and corporate philanthropy—but falls to 40th in volunteering and service. By contrast, Vermont ranks 2nd in the nation for formal volunteering (40.5%) and 1st in nonprofit organizations per capita, but only 25th in financial giving.

The Rising Economic Value of Volunteering

Nearly 76 million people volunteer in the U.S., serving a combined total of roughly 5 billion hours per year, the equivalent of $167.2 billion of service. Independent Sector, with the Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland, announced on April 21, 2026 that the estimate for the value of a volunteer hour was $36.14 in 2025—a 3.9% increase from 2024.

This valuation is critical for nonprofit impact reporting. For example, a food bank that logged 20,000 volunteer hours last year could estimate that volunteers provided more than $720,000 in contributed labor using the new national rate. However, values vary sharply by region. Values range from $17.99 per hour for Puerto Rico to $54.77 per hour for the District of Columbia.

State Rankings: The Full Top 10

Wyoming, Utah and Maryland came top, according to new analysis. Beyond these leaders, the landscape reflects diverse patterns of generosity. WalletHub analyzed two main dimensions—Volunteering & Service and Charitable Giving—each scored out of 50 points across 17 metrics, with data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, IRS, AmeriCorps, Feeding America, Google Ads, and others, all current as of October 2025.

Lower-ranked states reveal different constraints. States at the lower end of the rankings include New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada each showing lower rates of both charitable donations and volunteer participation.

Key Drivers: Why Some States Give More

Generosity is shaped by economics, culture, and civic infrastructure. Charitable deductions as a percentage of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), drawn from IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) data, is the single most important financial metric because it levels the playing field. A state where middle-income families donate 4% of their income scores higher than a state where concentrated wealth produces large absolute totals but a lower percentage of AGI.

Households earning under $50,000 contribute approximately 14.2% of their income to charitable causes. This counterintuitive finding underscores that generosity is not proportional to wealth—it reflects values, community ties, and institutional engagement.

Volunteering rebounded sharply post-pandemic. Volunteering saw a strong rebound in 2025, with formal participation rising to 28.3% and informal helping surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Short, flexible, and hybrid roles became the norm, driven by time scarcity and demand for convenience. Corporate and skills-based volunteering increased, with 77% of companies reporting higher employee engagement.

National Giving Trends: 2024–2025 Growth

Americans donated some $560 billion to charity in 2023, with two-thirds of that amount coming directly from individuals, according to the latest Giving USA annual report. Growth accelerated in 2024 and 2025. Key findings from Giving USA 2026: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2025 report that giving by individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations to U.S. charities increased 5.7% in current dollars (3.0% adjusted for inflation) to an estimated $617.20 billion in 2025.

Giving to education, human services, health, arts, culture and humanities, and environment/animals reached new highs in inflation-adjusted dollars. Bequest giving rose nearly 20% (16.6% adjusted for inflation) over 2024, the largest increase of any of the four sources of giving in 2025.

What This Means for Your Volunteer Program

Understanding state-level generosity patterns is essential for nonprofits and volunteer-dependent organizations. States ranking high in both giving and volunteering—like Wyoming, Utah, and Maryland—signal robust civic infrastructure and community engagement. Organizations in these regions often benefit from a virtuous cycle: more volunteers feed more awareness of nonprofit needs, which drives more financial giving.

However, states trailing in formal metrics often excel in informal helping. Informal volunteering surpassed pre-pandemic levels at 54.2%. This hidden reservoir of community support—neighbors helping neighbors without formal registration—is just as critical. Volunteers still want to help—they just need shorter, clearer, task-based roles that fit their lives.

To strengthen your volunteer program and ensure your organization attracts diverse talent across states, invest in volunteer tracking and management and identity verification systems. Character reference screening builds trust and safety. VolunteerBadge offers $5 FCRA-compliant background checks with no monthly fees, enabling you to screen volunteers quickly and affordably—a critical step whether you're in a high-generosity state or building momentum in an emerging region.

Learn more about youth mentoring volunteer statistics and how peer organizations are screening talent. Explore our state-by-state volunteer rankings for deeper regional insights. For churches and youth programs, see our church youth group organizing guide and nonprofit compliance essentials for 2026.

Download the data

Access the full dataset—all metrics, sources, and state rankings—in a single spreadsheet for your grant proposals, board reports, and strategic planning.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Why does WalletHub rank Wyoming first when larger states give more total dollars?
A: WalletHub's model weights per-capita metrics and percentage of income donated, not raw dollars. Wyoming's residents sacrifice a larger share of income and volunteer more intensively, reflecting deeper community commitment than concentrated wealth in larger states.

Q: How does informal volunteering differ from formal volunteering, and why does it matter?
A: Formal volunteering is registered, organized service (e.g., tutoring at a nonprofit). Informal helping is unregistered community aid (e.g., helping a neighbor move). Informal volunteering is growing and now exceeds pre-pandemic rates, but goes largely untracked in official statistics.

Q: Can a nonprofit use the $36.14 volunteer value in grant applications?
A: Yes. Many nonprofits use the value of volunteer time to recognize contributors in annual impact reports, and to help boards, donors, and corporate partners grasp the scale of contributed labor. Use the 2025 Independent Sector rate ($36.14 national, or your state rate) as the standard.

Q: Are younger generations volunteering less?
A: No. Yes. Millennials posted some of the strongest gains in 2025, and Gen Z is highly active in virtual, hybrid, and skills-based roles. They volunteer differently—fewer total hours per person, but more flexible and project-based engagement.

Q: How do state tax laws affect charitable giving rankings?
A: The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025, which raised the SALT deduction cap to $40,000, is projected to increase the national itemization rate from 10% to approximately 14%—a shift that will meaningfully affect this metric in future years. This may reshape state rankings as itemization expands.

Q: What's the best way to screen volunteers across different states with different regulations?
A: Use a compliant background check provider familiar with state-specific requirements. VolunteerBadge's FCRA-compliant screening and identity verification features work uniformly across all 50 states, ensuring you meet both state and federal standards.

Sources & references

1. WalletHub – Most Charitable States (2025)
2. Newsweek – Map Shows 'Most Charitable States' in US
3. Giving USA Foundation – Annual Report on Philanthropy (2025 & 2026)
4. Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy – Giving USA Research
5. Nonprofit News Feed – Most Generous US States by Work & Wealth (2026)
6. Independent Sector – Value of Volunteer Time (2026)
7. Do Good Institute – New Value of Volunteer Time (2026)
8. SignUpGenius – The State of Volunteering 2025
9. LiveNOW from FOX – States Ranked Most Charitable in America (2025)
10. ThinkAdvisor – 12 Most Generous U.S. States
11. Forbes – The State Of Giving In America Is Strong On Giving Tuesday 2025
12. National Philanthropic Trust – Charitable Giving Statistics
13. Wikipedia – Philanthropy in the United States
14. Renaissance Inc – US Charitable Giving Statistics (2025)
15. Medical Economics – The Most and Least Charitable States
16. KOTA TV – Wyoming Tops WalletHub List of Most Charitable States
17. Accounting Today – 20 Most Charitable States in America
18. Funraise – Value of Volunteer Time Calculator (2026)
19. VolunteerHub – 40 Volunteer Statistics Every Nonprofit Should Know
20. Volgistics – Volunteer Statistics and Trends for 2026
21. Bloomerang – 20+ Volunteer Statistics Every Nonprofit Should Know
22. Double the Donation – Essential Volunteer Statistics & Trends (2026)
23. 360MatchPro – Volunteering Statistics for 2026
24. AmeriCorps Open Data – State Ranking by Volunteer Rate
25. NonProfit PRO – Value of Volunteer Time Increases Again
26. NAVPLG – Celebrating Volunteers and Their Impact (2026)
27. Rutgers – New Jersey's Nonprofit Sector at a Glance (January 2026)
28. Serve.Love – Volunteer Hour Value Calculator (2026)
29. CCS Fundraising – Perspectives on Philanthropy (Giving USA 2025)