Residents of these NC cities are among the most charitable in the country, report finds
Residents in two North Carolina metro areas are among the most charitable in the country, a new report finds.
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia and Durham-Chapel Hill ranked in the top 10 in the nation for places where people are most generous with their time and money, according to results released Tuesday by SmartAsset.
To come up with its findings, the financial website says it compared charitable giving in the 200 most-populous U.S. metro areas. Analysts studied 2017 IRS tax data and 2018 AmeriCorps volunteer data, the most recent figures available, according to SmartAsset.
The Charlotte metro area earned the No. 5 spot on the list. The region, which includes South Carolina cities, ranks among the highest in the study for “percentage of tax returns showing a charitable contribution,” at about 29%. Also, charitable donations account for about 2.64% of residents’ total income, findings show.
The Durham-Chapel Hill area landed at No. 10 on the list. Nearly 30% of residents had contributions on their tax returns, among the highest percentages of all metros, according to the results.
“On the state level, the metro area benefits from the fact that more than a third of North Carolinians (35.1%) volunteer their time,” SmartAsset said.
North Carolina cities are part of other regions that also made the list, including Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News at No. 13; Winston-Salem at No. 17; Greensboro-High Point at No. 22; Asheville at No. 27; and Wilmington at No. 35, results show.
But statewide, North Carolina ranked just average for giving in another recent report.
The state earned the No. 17 spot on WalletHub’s list of most charitable places in the country. That ranking weighed volunteering and community service organizations across all states, according to the results published Monday.
The results come as job cuts and other hardships have made it difficult for some people to make ends meet during the coronavirus pandemic. With Giving Tuesday and potential end-of-the-year contributions on the horizon, some charities have said demand for their services is rising.
Overall, SmartAsset says the most generous U.S. residents live in Provo-Orem, Utah, southeast of Salt Lake City.
