New York ranks 21st among the states in WalletHub’s new charitable-giving comparison, with a sharp split between its high giving rank and lower volunteering rank.
The state placed third in charitable giving but 40th in volunteering and service in the personal-finance company’s Most Charitable States report, released Monday. New York’s overall score was 57.95 out of 100.
Utah leads the national ranking
Utah finished first overall, followed by Wyoming, Minnesota, Maryland and Delaware. Virginia, Colorado, Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Maine rounded out the top 10.
The rest of the top 20 were Oregon, Alaska, Montana, Iowa, Ohio, Connecticut, Idaho, Georgia, Illinois and New Hampshire.
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo pointed to Utah’s roughly 47% volunteer rate and more than 45 volunteer hours per person as reasons for its top finish. More than 68% of Utah residents reported helping neighbors with tasks such as house sitting, child care or lending tools at least once in the previous year, he said.
Utah also had the third-highest share of taxpayers donating money to charity. Its volunteer rate was 2.5 times Rhode Island’s, while its volunteer hours per person were 4.6 times Mississippi’s, WalletHub said.
Delaware had the most charities per person — 2.9 times as many as Utah, which had the fewest. That contrast illustrates how the report’s separate measures can produce different leaders.
What the comparison measures
WalletHub compared all 50 states using 17 indicators, dividing the score equally between volunteering and service and charitable giving. Measures included volunteer hours, help for neighbors, income donated, charities and food banks per person, and charity regulations.
The company used weighted scores and data collected as of Oct. 12. New York’s third-place giving result is a category rank, not a finding that its residents donated the third-largest dollar total. The statewide comparison also does not establish how individual Finger Lakes communities performed.
Lupo said giving time matters alongside giving money, especially for people whose budgets leave little room for donations. The report arrived as WalletHub highlighted more than $617 billion in annual U.S. charitable contributions.
Experts describe pressure on nonprofits
Andrew Burnstine, an associate professor at Lynn University, said charities face rising demand for food assistance, human services and community outreach while inflation makes donors more cautious and reduces what each donated dollar can buy.
He also warned that dependence on year-end giving can leave organizations struggling to cover expenses throughout the year. Charities must pay operating and administrative bills well beyond the holiday donation season, he said.
Scott Thorne, an instructor at Southeast Missouri State University, likewise described household purchasing power as a constraint on giving. He said high food prices can also encourage businesses to sell salvage groceries rather than donate them to food banks.
The two differed on whether charities need more regulation. Burnstine favored stronger oversight and clearer, more accessible financial disclosures, arguing that fraud damages confidence in legitimate nonprofits.
Thorne favored stricter enforcement of existing safeguards instead. “There are plenty of safeguards and regulations in place,” he said. “They just need to be enforced strictly with stringent penalties for violators.”
Choosing where to give
Burnstine encouraged donors to begin with causes they care about, such as food insecurity, education or the environment, and examine who benefits rather than relying on marketing.
He recommended checking independent charity evaluations and public Form 990 tax filings to understand spending on programs, administration and fundraising. He also suggested asking trusted peers, educators or community leaders about organizations they have worked with firsthand.
Thorne recommended Charity Navigator as a starting point for reviewing transparency and spending. WalletHub also identified Optica, the Aga Khan Foundation and Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust among its highest-rated charities and released a charity calculator to help people consider how to contribute money or time.
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