One Thing Red States Do Better Than Blue States

One Thing Red States Do Better Than Blue States (INFOGRAPHIC)

By Jan Diehm and Katy Hall

People who live in deeply religious regions of the country — the solid-red states of the Bible Belt and Utah — give more of their income to charity than those who don’t. Of the top 10 most generous states, according to a Chronicle of Philanthropy study based on itemized charitable contributions among people who made at least $50,000, nine voted for Mitt Romney in 2012.
Charitable causes include churches, and Salt Lake City is the nation’s most generous city. Its residents donate an average of nine percent of their discretionary income to charity; the Mormon church asks its members for one-tenth of their income as tithing. When you remove religion from the picture and look only at secular charities, the map shifts dramatically towards the Northeast.
Volunteer rates, shown in the second map below, aren’t as split along party lines though the most popular sort of volunteering is tied to religious organizations.
Whether you are donating money or time, there is one political factor that matters more than whether you are a Democrat or Republican. Registered voters are about twice as likely to give back in both ways than people not registered to vote, according to a recent HuffPost/YouGov poll.
Infographic by Jan Diehm for The Huffington Post.