The 5 most charitable states in America — and the 5 least charitable

Giving season is upon us as Americans look to help those in need during the holidays.

Americans donate an estimated $500 billion each year, a majority of which comes from individual donors.

WalletHub examined more than a dozen indicators of charitable behavior to determine how charitable behavior varies by state. These included everything from volunteer rate to the share of a population that reports doing favors for neighbors to the percentage of income donated. It also looked at some more unexpected factors, like public charities per capita, charity regulations, and the share of homeless people living in a shelter.

“The most charitable states aren’t just the places where people give the largest raw amounts of money,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. “The share of the population contributing and the percentage of their individual incomes they’re willing to use to help others are big factors in showing how charitable people are.”

Lupo said the study also factored in people who can’t afford to give much money, but donate their time to those in need instead.

Check out which states were ranked the most — and the least — charitable by WalletHub.