PROVIDENCE – In line with previous studies, WalletHub announced Tuesday it found Rhode Island to be the second least charitable state in the nation according to a 2017 ranking published to coincide with the recently-established Giving Tuesday tradition.
The study focused on two main metrics measured in the report were volunteering and service as well as charitable giving.
According to Wallethub’s findings, Rhode Island ranked No. 31 in charitable giving and tied with Maryland as the No. 4 state with the highest percent of population which donate money to charities.
On the other hand, Rhode Island ranked last, No. 50, in the report’s volunteering and service category. In fact, Rhode Island tied with Mississippi for the third worst (No. 47) for percent of population who donate their time to those in need.
For the past five years Rhode Island has performed equally as poor in Wallethub’s charitable giving study. First released in 2014, the report listed Rhode Island as No. 43 in the nation slipping to No. 50 – the least charitable state – the following year. The highest rank Rhode Island has achieved in the study’s three-year history is No. 42 in 2016, from which it has fallen seven spots to land at its current ranking of No. 49. However, Wallethub noted the methodology of this report has changed from the initial occurrence in 2014.
In the 2017 findings, the Ocean State was also found to be among those states with the lowest percent of population collecting and or distributing food – No. 48.
Overall, Massachusetts ranked No. 35 in the nation, while coming in at No. 46 in the volunteering and service category and No. 13 in charitable giving. In addition, the Bay State was ranked the No. 3 state to have the most charities per capita.
The No. 1 charitable state in the nation according to Wallethub’s 2017 research is Utah, which ranked No.1 for charitable giving and No. 7 for volunteering and service. The least charitable state in the nation is Hawaii coming in at No. 49 for volunteering and service and No. 44 for charitable giving.
In its research for this report Wallethub relied on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Corporation for National & Community Service, Education Commission of the States, Fraser Institute, National Center for Charitable Statistics, Cogency Global, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Internal Revenue Service, Feeding America and Gallup.
Emily Gowdey-Backus is a staff writer for PBN. You can follow her on Twitter @FlashGowdey or contact her via email, gowdey-backus@pbn.com.
