Generosity Index, 2004

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Generosity Index, 2004

The “Generosity Index” was created by the Catalogue for Philanthropy. It has long been generally agreed that philanthropic generosity is not just how much one gives, but how much one gives in relation to how much one has. For example, Mississippi is ranked first on the Generosity Index. The Average Adjusted Gross Income is $33,754 and the average charitable contribution is $4,484. New Hampshire, on the other hand, is ranked last in generosity. Its Average Adjusted Gross Income is $49,720 and the average charitable contribution is $2,312.

StateGenerosity
index1
“Having”
rank2
“Giving”
rank3
Rank
relation4
Mississippi150545
Arkansas247641
Oklahoma343835
Louisiana4421032
Alabama538731
Tennessee634331
South Dakota7441430
Utah831229
South Carolina9401228
Idaho10412021
Wyoming1121120
Texas1223419
West Virginia13483117
Nebraska14351916
North Dakota15463016
North Carolina16271512
Kansas1725187
Florida1820137
Georgia1917116
Kentucky2039336
Montana2149436
Missouri2229245
New Mexico2345405
Alaska2424213
Indiana252829–1
New York2659–4
Iowa273644–8
Ohio283242–10
California29617–11
Maryland30416–12
Illinois311022–12
Maine323750–13
Delaware331327–14
Washington341125–14
Vermont353347–14
Oregon362641–15
Hawaii373045–15
Virginia38723–16
Arizona392238–16
Nevada401432–18
Pennsylvania411836–18
Michigan421635–19
Colorado43828–20
Connecticut44126–25
Minnesota451237–25
Wisconsin461946–27
New Jersey47234–32
Rhode Island481549–34
Massachusetts49339–36
New Hampshire50948–39
Average Adjusted Gross Income figures are from 2002.
1. Generosity Index: The index is created by comparing the rank of each state's average adjusted gross income to the rank of each state's average itemized charitable deductions (AICD). The arithmetical differences between these two rankings are then themselves ranked, resulting in the Generosity Index rank.
2. “Having” Rank: a ranking of the Average Adjusted Gross Income by state.
3. “Giving” Rank: a ranking of the average donations by state.
4. Rank Relation: Having Rank minus the Giving Rank.
Source: Catalogue for Philanthropy www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/ .

Volunteers by Selected Characteristics, 2004MiscellaneousExpenditure per Consumer Unit for Entertainment and Reading
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