Maryland Residents Not Among Most Generous Across the U.S.

Maryland Residents Not Among Most Generous Across the U.S.

It’s time for Maryland residents to get in the holiday spirit. 

We're taking a break from sports betting in Maryland and taking a hard look at states' philanthropic efforts across the U.S.

Ten years ago, Giving Tuesday was created to counteract the spending of shopping holidays – Black Friday and Cyber Monday – with an effort to give to charities in need, via individual contributions and philanthropic donations.

On Giving Tuesday (Nov. 29), hundreds of thousands of Americans will donate money to the charitable organization(s) of their choice. Many write their charitable contributions off as deductions during tax season, which allows us to see just how much Americans are giving, and from which states the most donations come.

Using this data, we can compare the ratio of the average charitable contribution to the average income in each state and use the ratio to determine which states have the most (or least) generous citizens.

Using historical data from the Internal Revenue Service, BetMaryland.com determined the average charitable contribution deduction (amount/number of contributions) and the average total income (amount / number of incomes reported) in each state in the 2019 tax year. Then, BetMaryland.com calculated how much of the average total income is donated to charity.

Each state was ranked from most generous (1) to least generous (50) based on that percentage.

The result for Maryland? Well, it's not pretty.

U.S. States Charitable Contributions

StateAvg. Charitable Contribution Avg. Total Income % of Income
Wyoming $54,107 $85,022 63.6%
South Dakota $28,542 $68,040 41.9%
Arkansas $22,671 $59,691 38%
North Dakota $24,571 $76,198 32.2%
Tennessee $19,631 $66,955 29.3%
Oklahoma $17,870 $62,456 28.6%
Mississippi $14,432 $52,109 27.7%
Utah $20,492 $75,707 27%
Alabama $16,747 $61,811 27%
Kansas $17,866 $70,040 25.5%
Nebraska $16,957 $68,911 24.6%
Florida $18,440 $75,418 24.4%
New Mexico $14,375 $59,014 24.4%
Texas $17,743 $74,333 23.9%
Missouri $15,711 $66,389 23.7%
Indiana $14,532 $63,111 23%
Idaho $15,196 $66,476 22.9%
Georgia $15,665 $68,750 22.8%
Kentucky $13,326 $59,387 22.4%
Louisiana $13,500 $60,563 22.3%
Vermont $15,254 $69,130 22%
West Virginia $11,944 $55,890 21.3%
South Carolina $13,528 $64,531 21%
Ohio $13,515 $65,213 20.7%
North Carolina $13,176 $68,244 19.3%
Michigan $12,733 $66,970 19%
Iowa $12,788 $67,556 18.9%
New York $15,936 $88,997 17.9%
Nevada $12,660 $71,405 17.7%
Wisconsin $12,112 $70,724 17.1%
United States $13,221 $77,079 17.1%
Alaska $12,124 $74,196 16.3%
Maine $10,603 $65,021 16.3%
Pennsylvania $11,465 $73,675 15.6%
Washington $14,311 $93,455 15.3%
Arizona $10,639 $69,667 15.3%
Illinois $11,528 $79,537 14.5%
Colorado $11,484 $84,652 13.6%
Minnesota $10,712 $79,348 13.5%
New Hampshire $11,439 $85,114 13.4%
Connecticut $13,405 $101,844 13.2%
District of Columbia $14,417 $109,398 13.1%
Massachusetts $13,180 $102,540 12.9%
Delaware $9,337 $72,413 12.9%
Montana $13,863 $65,380 12.2%
California $10,738 $89,964 11.9%
Virginia $9,892$84,375 11.7%
Rhode Island $8,443 $72,316 11.7%
Oregon $8,232 $72,579 11.3%
Maryland $8,876 $84,863 10.5%
Hawaii $7,027 $69,761 10%
New Jersey $8,735 $94,117 9.2%


Maryland Near Bottom of Most Generous States

The Old Line State may be too keyed in on the pending arrival of online Maryland sports betting apps, as Maryland finished third worst with only 10.5% of income directed toward charity.

The average charitable contribution ($8,876) was the fifth least generous amount, higher than only Hawaii ($7,027), New Jersey ($8,735), Oregon ($8,232) and Rhode Island ($8,443).

(Note, these numbers are significantly affected by the top tax bracket in each given state, meaning the typical Maryland resident likely isn't donating that high of an amount in a given year).

Who Topped the List?

The top five states that are the most generous: Wyoming ($54,107 average charitable contribution), South Dakota ($28,542), North Dakota ($24,571), Arkansas ($22,671) and Utah ($20,492).

With the nation’s economy struggling as it is on a daily basis, this trend in Maryland could continue.

Give what you can Marylanders, but maybe just dig a bit deeper?

Stay close to BetMaryland for unique content such as this, and don't forget we're also your home for the top Maryland sportsbook promotions.

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Author

Thomas Leary

Thomas Leary is a news editor and writer for BetMaryland.com. He previously worked at Sports Business Journal for over 6 years, where he helped identify emerging sectors across sports business, such as legalized gambling, and helped launch the publication’s digital newsletter division. Thomas lives in Charlotte, N.C.

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