July 28, 2008
*For Some Reason I Expected Tennessee to Rank Higher...
But no surprise that the midwest does well when rating volunteerism.
After a big HUH? for the descriptive title (major states??), the state (+D of C) rankings are listed thusly:
Rankings of 50 major U.S. states by the percentage of residents 16 and older who perform volunteer service.1. Utah, 43.9 percent
2. Nebraska, 39.8 percent
3. Minnesota, 39.7 percent
4. Alaska, 38.6 percent
5. Montana, 38.0 percent
6. Iowa, 37.3 percent
7. South Dakota,37.1 percent
8. Vermont 37.0
9. Kansas 36.8
10. North Dakota 35.6
10. Wisconsin 35.6
12. Wyoming 35.1
13. Washington 34.7
14. Idaho 34.0
15. Maine 33.3
16. Oregon 33.2
17. Colorado 31.9
18. New Hampshire 31.5
19. Michigan 31.4
20. District of Columbia 31.3
21. Oklahoma 30.5
22. Indiana 30.4
23. Connecticut 30.3
23. Ohio 30.3
25. Missouri 30.2
26. Kentucky 29.4
27. South Carolina 28.6
28. Maryland 28.5
29. Pennsylvania 28.3
30. Virginia 28.3
31. Illinois 28.0
32. North Carolina 27.3
33. Texas 27.1
34. Massachusetts 27.0
35. Alabama 26.6
36. New Mexico 26.6
37. West Virginia 25.7
38. Delaware 25.6
39. Tennessee 25.5
40. Arkansas 25.0
41. Rhode Island 24.9
42. California 24.3
43. Georgia 24.2
44. Hawaii 24.0
45. Arizona 23.9
46. New Jersey 22.7
47. Mississippi 21.8
48. Louisiana 20.9
49. Florida 20.0
50. New York 19.2
51. Nevada 17.7
I'll go ahead and throw out Utah in this convo, since those wacky Mormons skew the numbers. So we have Nebraska with a 39.8 and Minnesota with a 39.7 at the top of the list. Then Nevada way down at 17.7?! Are they too busy sinning to volunteer? Or are they all transplants who have no emotional ties to their communities and left their can-do 'tudes at home? What is going on there?
I'm disappointed in you, Illinois. But look at Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. All in the top ten. S'right. Something to be said for the heartland.
Posted by Jennifer at July 28, 2008 09:00 AM | TrackBackTweet
90% of all Nevadans live just a stone's throw from the California border. Plus they're on the other side of the Rockies so they can't compare to the midwest. Plus they have a weird economy and no mosquitos.
Posted by: Tuning Spork at July 28, 2008 06:11 AMI think you hit on something there, Jen. Influx states seem to rate lower. The bigger the growth/traffic, the lower they sit on the list. Shrinking/stable states tend to sit pretty high.
Posted by: Jim at July 28, 2008 08:29 AMIt looks that the highest ranking states have lower populations and probably lower taxes too. People seem to be more willing to help out when they know the ones they are helping.
Posted by: Pete at July 28, 2008 08:31 AMIf you're going to throw out Utah for the Mormons, you have to throw out Idaho, too, which is roughly 1/3 Mormon. So that 34% is the Mormons plus some really nice people.
Pete, Texas and Florida are both really low on the list (Florida? Everyone's retired, and no time to volunteer? Or just too ill?), and neither has a state income tax.
p.s. I love the 50 major states thing.
Posted by: sarahk at July 28, 2008 01:55 PMI didn't read past the first page of the article (I'm lazy)but it wasn't clear to me if the volunteerism included that which occurs via churches. I know for a fact that my church has lots of projects in the area for which many in the congregation volunteer.
Posted by: physics geek at July 30, 2008 02:53 PM
Jew