Volunteerism evolved as one of the cornerstones of American life. People give time to non-profit causes, religious efforts, and political activity. Arguably, organizations like The Boy Scouts, The Red Cross, and Salvation Army would not exist without volunteers.

Part of the bedrock of volunteerism has been that people do not have to donate money to causes, because they can give their time. Charitable giving hit $471 billion in 2020. But, almost all organizations that receive some of this money also need unpaid “boots on the ground” to complete whatever their missions might be.

Volunteer work varies widely from place to place. To determine the state volunteering the most, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the report “Volunteering in America” from AmeriCorps. States were ranked based on the percentage of residents who volunteered their time in the last year. Other data is also from the report.

The No. 1 state for volunteering is Utah, where more than half of residents volunteered in the last year for a total of almost 140 million hours. Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of residents donated at least $25 to charity. These figures reflect the ethos of Mormon volunteerism in a state where more than 60% of residents are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day States.

Utah is followed by Minnesota, where slightly more than 45% of residents volunteered for a total of 137 million hours.

At the other end of the list is Florida, where fewer than 23% of residents volunteered. That may reflect the transient nature of some communities, as many residents of other states and countries spend winters in Florida.

Not far behind Florida is Mississippi, where fewer than 24% volunteered.

Click here to read states where people are volunteering the most

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