Iowans Aren't As Charitable As We'd Like To Think: Survey

Iowans are better at giving their time and helping a cause with action than opening a wallet or checkbook, yet in both cases we fall short of more than half of the states in America when it comes to charity. A survey of the most charitable states in the country also found that every Midwest state surrounding Iowa scored better on the generosity scale.

With November 28 being Giving Tuesday as a way to combat consumerism after the Thanksgiving weekend shopping blitz, WalletHub today released its report on 2017's Most Charitable States as well as a Charity Calculator to help donors maximize their philanthropic impact as we head into December, when nearly a third of all annual giving takes place.

To determine the most generous states, WalletHub compared them based on 14 key metrics including volunteer rates, the share of population collecting and distributing food or clothing, the percentage of taxpayers who donated to charity, community service requirements for high schools graduation, and the percentage of sheltered homeless.

WalletHub's ranking names Utah as the most generous state for the third straight year, followed by Maryland, Minnesota, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Washington and Virginia. Rounding out the top 10 were South Dakota, Georgia, and Oklahoma.

Iowa ranked 32nd overall and placed 22nd on the volunteering and service scale and 34th for charitable giving. And there's more shameful news for Iowans: In classifying states in one of three groups based on wealth and contributions, Iowa falls into the "richest and least charitable" category, WalletHub found.

Nearly 63 million people volunteer in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau, for a combined total of 7.9 billion service hours per year, which translates into $184 billion of service.

Photo via Shutterstock; graphics via WalletHub