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Top US Cities for Charitable Givers, by Category »
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Top US Cities for Charitable Givers, by Category

Households in upstate New York are more likely to open their wallets for health-related causes; those in Washington, DC and San Francisco are partial to the arts; and Salt Lake City residents are most likely to give to religious organizations, according to (pdf) data released by Scarborough Research.

Scarborough’s research, which details the top cities for giving in several categories, finds that the types of charitable donations in the US vary greatly from city to city, and the percentage of households contributing to a certain cause also differs among markets.

Contributions to Arts/Cultural Organizations

Washington, DC and the San Francisco area are the top-ranking cities for those who make contributions to arts and cultural organizations. Some 16% of households in these markets give to arts and cultural charities, compared with the national average of 9% of Americans making these types of contributions.

Contributions to Healthcare/Medical Organizations

Cities in upstate New York - including the Albany, Rochester and Syracuse areas top the list for contributions to health- and medical-related organizations. All of these areas, as well as several other cities in New England , have well-above the 16% national average:

Contributions to Political Organizations

Minneapolis-St. Paul held the unrivaled top spot as the top city for households that contribute to political organizations with 16% of households making political contributions. This is twice the national average of 8%.

Contributions to Religious Organizations

Salt Lake City, with its high concentration of Mormon households, holds the #1 spot for the highest percentage of religious contributions. Some 58% of households in Salt Lake City donate to religious organizations, well above the national average of 43%.

Contributions to Social Care/Welfare Organizations

In terms of contributions to social care and welfare organizations, Washington, DC has the highest number of contributing households with 27%, while Minneapolis-St. Paul and Seattle/Tacoma each have 26%. The national average for contributions in this category is 17%.

A complete ranking for all 81 Top-Tier Markets measured by Scarborough can be found here.