In a national study of “2021’s Most Caring Cities in the America,” Tulsa has the highest share of income donated to charity, 8.13 percent, which is 2.7 times higher than in Honolulu, the city with the lowest at 3.03 percent.
During the holidays, Americans donated a record $471 billion in 2020. WalletHub released its report on and reported that Madison, Wisconsin, was on top of the list.
One hundred large cities were looked at. Tulsa was No. 98 and Oklahoma City was No. 79
WalletHub used 39 factors, ranging from the share of sheltered homeless persons to volunteering hours per capita to the share of income donated to charity.
“Caring means having a connection with others and being concerned for their wellbeing,” the report states. “It can be expressed in many ways — from helping an elderly person cross the street to fighting a house fire. In 2021, Americans need to feel cared for more than usual as they face a continued global pandemic and an economy that has yet to fully recover. Certain parts of the country put compassion into practice more than others, though.”
“It is important to clarify that giving money to a nonprofit organization is not the only measure of ‘caring,’ and in fact, we know that there has been a rise in the number of ways that people express their care for others beyond traditional charitable giving,” said Michael Moody of Grand Valley State University. “Some of those were apparent during the pandemic, like supporting a struggling local business or giving time informally to help neighbors. There is actually a trend in the past couple of decades of a decline in the number of households who say they make formal donations to charitable organizations, in part because of the significant economic pressures on lower- and middle-income households.
“So, we expect that helping others will continue to be something Americans do regularly, but how they are choosing to do so will probably continue to evolve. This does not mean reversing the decline in household donations is not important, though. That giving is essential to many local nonprofits doing incredible work – work that is even more vital now.”
Most Caring Cities in America
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Boston, Mass.
- New York, New York
- Virginia Beach, Va.
- Fremont, Calif.
- Pittsburgh, Penn.
- Jersey City, New Jersey
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Seattle, Washington
- Denver, Colorado
- Portland, Oregon
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- San Francisco, Calif.
- St. Paul, Minnesota
- Chesapeake, Virginia
- Irvine, California
- Gilbert, Arizona
- Aurora, Colorado
- Washington, D.C.
- Baltimore has the most volunteer hours per capita, 45.16, which is 5.6 times more than in Jacksonville, Florida, the city with the fewest at 8.05.
- Jacksonville, Florida, has the highest share of residents who do favors for their neighbors, 68.70 percent, which is 1.8 times higher than in Orlando, Florida, the city with the lowest at 38.30 percent.
- Boston has the highest share of sheltered homeless persons, 97.80 percent, which is 5.6 times higher than in San Jose, California, the city with the lowest at 17.52 percent.
- Fremont, California, has the lowest child-poverty rate, 3.09 percent, which is 16.2 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 50.19 percent.
- Toledo, Ohio, has the most teachers who “care for their students’ well-being” and Chandler, Arizona, is at the bottom.
To view the, visit: wallethub.com/edu/most-caring-cities/17814