Although it’s been a difficult year for everyone, it’s also brought out the generosity in Americans. A recent report on charitable giving shows that more people in the U.S. this year are reaching into their pockets to help others in need. In fact, “total donations made through June equaled 47.3 percent of total giving for all of 2019.”
 
But where in America are people giving back to their communities the most?
 
In honor of the Season of Giving, America’s leading outdoor services provider, LawnStarter, crunched the data to find the Most Generous U.S. Cities of 2020. We compared the 150 biggest U.S. cities across 12 key indicators of philanthropic behavior, from charitable giving to volunteering rate to the number of food banks.
 
So which cities are the most giving this year? See the results below, followed by key findings from our report.

America’s Most Generous Cities

1. Minneapolis, Minnesota

2. St. Paul, Minnesota

3. Portland, Oregon

4. Salt Lake City, Utah

5. Vancouver, Washington

6. Boston, Massachusetts

7. Seattle, Washington

8. Washington, D.C.

9. Tacoma, Washington

10. Baltimore, Maryland

Key Takeaways:  

• Northwest Is Best: With four of their cities in the top 10 of our ranking, the states of Washington and Oregon dominate our list. While cities like Portland and Seattle have solid numbers of volunteers and participation in local organizations, part of their high scores could be attributed to need. It’s no secret that the West Coast has a large homeless population, and with housing prices continuing to soar in the region, it’s doubtful the need will dissipate any time soon.

• Big Cities, Big Needs: In general, larger cities rank higher on our list than smaller and midsize cities. Boston and Washington, for example, have higher volunteering rates and more nonprofit organizations. Plus, with increasing inequality, there’s often a greater need in larger cities for shelter beds, soup kitchens and food banks. Generosity tends to sprout where it’s required most. 

• Southern Inhospitality: Southern cities tended to do relatively poorly in our ranking. This is mostly due to the lack of available services. Cities like Lubbock, Texas, and Columbus, Georgia, have comparatively fewer numbers of donation centers, food banks and soup kitchens. That’s not to say the residents of these cities aren’t generous, but the lack of services cuts down on volunteer opportunities and on ways to address community needs. 

Our full ranking and analysis can be found here: https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/2020s-most-generous-u-s-cities/