What Are the Most Charitable Counties in the United States?

Since its inception in 2010, the Charities Aid Foundation’s World Giving Index has consistently ranked the United States among the top 10 most charitable countries in the world. It’s easy to see why: from donating money, food, clothing, and more to volunteering time to help neighbors and strangers alike, the charitable spirit has always been a deep-rooted part of American culture.

Since the United States has historically been a notably philanthropic country, our team at Harmony and Healing collected and analyzed data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to determine where the most charitable people live in the country.

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Methodology

Using the most recent tax return data from the IRS, we analyzed charitable contribution and income figures to calculate the average contribution per tax return in each county, as well as percentage of each county’s income donated to charities, to identify the most charitable counties in the United States.

The Top 5 Most Charitable Counties in the Nation

1. Benton County, Arkansas – Benton County in Arkansas is the most charitable county in the United States, with a total charitable contribution equaling 15.56 percent of the county’s total income. Of the 133,860 returns filed in Benton County, the average contribution per return was $29.41. This average is nearly double that of the next most charitable county, placing Benton County’s total contribution at $3,936,911. These figures led us to ask ourselves, “Why this county?” Walmart’s corporate headquarters is in Bentonville, Benton County, and it’s the largest employer in the area. The company and the Walmart Foundation demonstrate significant regional charitable leadership through various initiatives and substantial donations. For example, in 2024 alone, they committed up to $2 million for storm relief efforts in Northwest Arkansas.

The region also benefits from other major employers with strong charitable programs:

• J.B. Hunt Transport Services, the second-largest employer in the county, has a structured corporate giving program.
• Tyson Foods has demonstrated significant charitable contributions, including a commitment of 110,000 pounds of protein to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.

The presence of these major corporations, notably Walmart’s headquarters, creates a corporate philanthropy culture and provides the economic foundation that enables residents to be more charitable.

2. New York County, New York – After Benton County, there is New York County in New York, or as it is more commonly known, Manhattan. New York County’s total charitable contribution equaled 5.09 percent of the county’s total income or an average of $15.81 per return filed out of 842,290 returns. Overall, the county’s total charitable contributions beat out Benton County at $13,315,088 due to the greater population.

3. San Mateo County, California – The title of the third most charitable county belongs to San Mateo County, California. For the 2021 tax year, San Mateo residents filed 375,020 returns with an average of $10.52 per return or a total of $3,946,683. These contributions make up 3.41 percent of the county’s total income.

4. San Francisco County, California – Yet another California-based county comes fourth with 3.19 percent of the county’s total income put toward charitable contributions. This percentage translates to an average contribution of $8.09 for each of San Francisco County’s 441,650 returns filed or $3,572,566.

5. Marin County, California – Completing a trifecta of Californian counties, the fifth most charitable county is Marin County. The average charitable contribution on this county’s 130,330 tax returns is $7.91 for a total contribution of $1,030,459, or 2.7 percent of the county’s income.

Non-monetary Ways to Give

Since not everyone can afford monetary donations, let’s explore a variety of ways you can give back without breaking the bank. We’ve compiled some of our favorite ways you can use your time, effort, and other resources to improve your community and the lives of others.

• Donate food to local food banks. Many food banks are happy to take non-perishable items like pasta, canned goods, rice, cooking sprays and oils, and herbs and spices. Personal hygiene products like deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet paper, laundry detergent, diapers and wipes, razors, and shampoo and conditioner are also usually accepted. Try contacting your local food bank beforehand to see what items they especially need at the moment.
• Donate clothing and other items. Try sorting through your clothes to find items you no longer want or wear. Clothing selected for donation should be in good condition, clean, and free from holes, stains, or wear and tear. Goodwill has a comprehensive list of items that are good for donation versus items that are not.
• Volunteer at local shelters. You can search for shelters in your area and ask them if they could use extra hands to help with anything they need.
• Help local animal shelters. Animal shelters often rely on volunteers for tasks employees cannot get to. Frequently, this involves the enrichment of the lives of their animals in the forms of play and walks because the employees usually have their hands full with feeding, dispensing medicine and medical care, bathing, cleaning, performing administrative tasks, and any other daily operations to keep things running smoothly.
• Write a letter to a veteran. Programs like A Million Thanks send out letters to military veterans. It is a nice gesture to give your thanks for their service and make someone feel a little more appreciated.
• Send a card for Christmas. Some people may not have or be able to see family and friends for the holidays. Programs like The Angel Card Project set out to make sure everyone can receive something thoughtful for Christmas.
• Donate blood or plasma. Blood and plasma donations are simple and safe procedures that can help save lives. Donations have limitations based on weight, height, age, frequency, medications, and medical history, so it may not be feasible for everyone. In return, many donors may receive a monetary reward for their donation.
• Request a musical visit for a patient. Music is the universal language of healing. Through Harmony and Healing, you can request private and free musical visits over Zoom for a hospital or hospice patient. If you are a professional musician, you can apply here to be a participating artist.

And if you have the means, you can donate here to make a musical visit possible for a patient and their loved ones.

The 50 Most Charitable Counties Ranked by Average Charitable Contribution per Tax Return

The 25 Most Populous U.S. Counties Ranked by Average Charitable Contribution Per Tax Return

Sources:

https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-county-data

https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html

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