Community Engagement
Average Charitable Giving

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Average Charitable Giving

What does this measure?

Contributions to charitable organizations, measured as an average per tax return with itemized contributions.

Why is this important?

Charitable giving supports a wide variety of organizations, including those that provide essential services to the community and people in need. The level of giving shows residents' willingness to invest in programs and organizations serving the community.

How is the region performing?

In 2020, the average charitable contribution in the Mid-Hudson Valley region was about $10,000, below the $12,000 state (excluding NYC) and $15,900 national average. Residents in Columbia County had the highest average charitable contribution in the region at just below $12,900 followed by Dutchess County at $10,600 and the lowest was Sullivan County at $7,000 in 2020.

Due to the change in tax laws, standard deductions nearly doubled for all filers for 2018 and therefore comparisons to prior years are not comparable.

Notes about the data

Figures are in constant 2021 dollars. These figures reflect contributions listed on tax returns with itemized deductions, which researchers estimate cover about 80% of all charitable giving nationally. High-income taxpayers are much more likely to file tax returns with itemized deductions than those with lower incomes. For 2018, the standard deduction has nearly doubled for all filers. No county or state data are available on charitable contributions by taxpayers who take the standard deduction.

Average Charitable Giving
2011201220132014201520162017201820192020
Region$3,450$3,541$3,630$3,847$4,031$4,007$4,226$8,030$8,543$9,958
Columbia County$4,073$4,903$4,740$6,021$5,982$4,728$5,910$11,650$15,275$12,854
Dutchess County$3,701$3,640$3,863$3,881$3,961$4,004$3,905$7,672$8,081$10,568
Greene County$2,965$3,080$2,930$3,007$2,979$3,147$3,431$6,576$6,802$7,946
Orange County$3,517$3,707$3,751$4,032$4,386$4,495$4,793$9,011$9,501$10,500
Putnam County$3,260$3,308$3,491$3,703$3,754$3,562$4,115$7,086$7,100$8,528
Sullivan County$3,010$3,192$3,151$3,287$3,840$3,447$3,371$6,060$6,850$6,980
Ulster County$3,038$2,962$2,975$3,142$3,227$3,373$3,503$6,795$7,189$8,924
NYS (excluding NYC)$4,510$4,976$4,823$5,164$5,277$5,619$5,698$11,437$10,904$11,966
U.S.$5,500$6,066$6,135$6,535$6,779$7,018$7,303$14,023$13,724$15,934

Source: Internal Revenue Service
Notes: Figures are in constant 2021 dollars.




Total Charitable Giving
2011201220132014201520162017201820192020
Region$642,854,910$649,969,687$656,567,509$683,679,140$724,015,350$719,141,308$763,802,215$511,639,902$514,982,588$530,884,936
Columbia County$33,549,160$38,831,393$36,686,572$46,183,802$45,704,902$36,122,635$45,094,971$26,911,718$34,827,144$28,151,204
Dutchess County$190,119,536$185,115,349$193,475,723$190,352,945$195,598,870$198,418,770$195,419,646$137,407,420$138,108,774$157,993,504
Greene County$16,077,095$16,198,434$14,972,402$14,762,014$14,744,512$15,547,579$16,982,054$8,548,644$8,298,991$9,217,614
Orange County$218,681,496$228,106,996$228,971,203$244,459,726$269,153,374$274,255,415$296,654,224$207,804,780$205,402,673$199,718,808
Putnam County$74,176,771$74,800,768$78,362,006$81,691,842$84,473,697$80,779,446$93,078,505$65,123,790$61,555,618$64,301,338
Sullivan County$28,914,919$29,878,292$28,360,558$28,725,091$33,561,286$29,502,127$29,060,294$14,605,642$15,893,150$14,030,582
Ulster County$81,335,933$77,038,454$75,739,044$77,503,720$80,778,709$84,515,336$87,512,521$51,237,909$50,896,238$57,471,886
NYS (excluding NYC)$7,977,978,200$8,706,567,975$8,312,656,158$8,777,049,046$9,022,865,307$9,595,780,573$9,793,268,357$7,189,932,939$6,528,970,835$6,300,844,279
U.S.$209,070,062,723$226,984,637,841$224,556,987,002$236,273,639,620$248,352,099,791$260,229,044,413$276,908,039,145$207,971,861,433$195,515,632,559$201,824,043,943

Source: Internal Revenue Service
Notes: Figures are in constant 2021 dollars.




INDICATORS TREND | STATE


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