PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island remains among the least charitable states in the nation, according to a pair of recent studies.
WalletHub ranked the Ocean State No. 47 for the second straight year in its annual “Most Charitable States” report released on Nov. 11. LendingTree ranked the Ocean State No. 50 in average charitable contributions in its report released on Nov. 18.
In the WalletHub report, researchers compared all 50 states across two key dimensions: volunteering and service and charitable giving. Each dimension was evaluated using 17 key metrics and was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the “most charitable.”
Rhode Island scored 47.2, with a ranking of No. 47 for volunteering and service and No. 43 for charitable giving.
The report also noted Rhode Island ranked 50th in its percentage of population collecting and distributing food and 48th for percentage of donated income.
Wyoming is the most charitable state in the U.S., according to WalletHub. That state scored 75.3 overall, with a No. 1 ranking in volunteering and service and seventh in charitable giving. Utah, Minnesota, Maine and Delaware rounded out the top five.
Rhode Island ranked 45th in 2022 and 46th in 2021 in WalletHub’s survey.
In LendingTree’s survey, which also included the District of Columbia, QuestionPro was commissioned to conduct an online survey of 2,049 U.S. consumers ages 18 to 78 from Oct. 1-3. The survey was administered using a nonprobability-based sample, and quotas were used to ensure the sample base represented the overall population. Researchers reviewed all responses for quality control.
LendingTree researchers also analyzed IRS Statistics of Income data to calculate the percentage of tax returns with charitable contributions and the average charitable contribution in tax year 2021 – the latest available.
That study found that residents in Rhode Island made the second-lowest charitable donations in the U.S. The average in Rhode Island among residents who filed returns with charitable contributions was $2,191, behind West Virginia at $2,029. In total, Rhode Island residents made $500.5 million in charitable contributions in the 2021 tax year.
Wyoming also topped the LendingTree study, with an average charitable contribution of $14,627. State residents there contributed $1.3 billion in charitable contributions in the 2021 tax year. Arkansas, Utah, New York and Washington, D.C. rounded out the top five.
