Montgomery County is the Most Generous in Pennsylvania

If you’re feeling generous, chances are you live in Montgomery County. According to data compiled by “The Chronicle of Philanthopy,” people in Montgomery County are the most generous in the state.

Based on tax records from the IRS for 2008 – the most recent year for which such data are available – Montgomery residents gave 4.8 percent of their income to charity. That equals $650.6 million in total contributions.

Do you consider yourself generous? What's your responsibilty for giving to charity?

By comparison, the median contribution in Pennsylvania was 3.9 percent and 4.7 percent for the entire United States.

The data comes from a special report, “How America Gives,” that examines charitable giving by zip code and by income in every city and town in the country. The study is based on the exact dollar amount of charitable deductions made by American taxpayers; the information, however, does not pinpoint specific charities people supported.

Montgomery is ranked 36th out of 3,115 counties in total contributions. Bucks County is ranked #88; Philadelphia is 83; Chester, 76; Delaware, 66; Lehigh, 222; Northampton 270.

Based on total contributions, Pennsylvania is also generous, ranking #7, having contributed $4.7 billion in the year the data measures. However, when ranked by the percent of income Pennsylvanians give, we only rank #40.

The most generous people come from Utah. Utah residents contributed 10.6 percent of their income to charity in 2008.

“Tithing,” or giving 10 percent of personal income to charity, is a pillar of the Mormon faith, and 62 percent of the population in Utah is Mormon, according to the U.S. Census.

Should everyone give a tithe?