"How America Gives," published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, uses IRS data to determine giving patterns across the country, broken out by income ranges across ZIP codes, counties, and states. Researchers looked at adjusted gross income to determine how much people gave, and the study tracked about 80 percent of all money donated to charity by taxpaying Americans in 2012, the latest year for which IRS data was available.
While most coverage of the report has focused on the finding that top-earners have been giving a smaller share of their income to charity than poorer Americans, The Chronicle study also highlights "giving patterns," broken out by state and compared against how each state voted in the 2012 presidential election, i.e., whether it went for Romney or Obama.
Based on the report, the ten least generous states in the U.S. are:
New Hampshire
At 1.74 percent, New Hampsherites were dead last for giving in 2012, but gave enough votes to Barack Obama for him to win the state.
Maine
Mainers helped give Barack Obama the White House for a second term, but they gave less than 2 percent (1.95 percent) of their incomes to charity in 2012.
Vermont
Vermonters fell hard for the president in 2012, giving him 67 percent of the state's vote, but a 2.00 percent rate of giving put them very near the bottom of this list.
New Jersey
The home of Republican Governor Chris Christie backed Barack Obama in 2012, while residents squeezed out just over two percent of their adjusted gross income for charity that year.
Rhode Island
Residents of this tiny slice of the Northeast voted for Obama in 2012 and gave 2.07 percent of their adjusted gross income to charity.
Massachusetts
Mitt Romney may have been governor here, but historically Democratic Massachusetts broke for Obama in 2012, while residents there gave 2.19 percent of their adjusted gross income to charity.
Connecticut
This very Blue State went predictably for Obama in 2012, while residents there handed over 2.34 percent of their adjusted gross income to charity.
North Dakota
Another Plains State that went for Mitt Romney, but residents of North Dakota were not so generous as those in other states, giving only 2.37 percent of their adjusted gross income to charity in 2012.
Wisconsin
The great Northern State also went Barack Obama's way in 2012, though residents there could only manage to give up 2.44 percent of their adjusted gross income for charity.
Hawaii
The state that gave the world Barack Obama unsurprisingly swung his way in 2012, but residents there only coughed up 2.47 percent of their adjusted gross income for charitable causes.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
