Philanthropy Study Says Dukes County Residents Almost in Step With Average American

The percentage of their income Dukes County residents give to charity is less than the county, state and country averages, according to a study released today.

Dukes County residents give just a bit less then the average American, but a considerable amount more then the rest of Massachusetts residents.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy's "How America Gives" study reported that Dukes County residents, with a median discretionary income of $46,640, had a median contribution of 4.2 percent, or $1,941, of their income to charity in 2008, the tax year for which data was collected.

By way of comparison the state, and country's median contribution was 2.8 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. (See chart below.)

The study is based on exact dollar amounts released by the Internal Revenue Service that show the value of charitable deductions claimed by American taxpayers in 2008. 

The Chronicle’s rankings show the percentage of their income that households donated from the money they had left after paying their taxes and covering housing, food, and other essential expenses.

Detailed data is searchable by zip code.