Numbers have been tallied, and America's most charitable states are not the richest: Top five are Utah, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia.
"An analysis from The Chronicle of Philanthropy, which uses data on tax returns, found that Utah was the most charitable state in 2012, as measured by giving as a percentage of adjusted gross income. Utah's giving percentage was 6.56 percent—more than twice the rate for New York and California.... Granted, the ranking for many of the top states is as much a function of low incomes as it is large giving. On a pure dollar basis, the states with more rich people—California, New York and Florida—most likely contribute far more. Yet the top giving states tend to share certain traits. They are Sun Belt states. They are states with stronger religious participation. And they all voted Republican in the 2012 election." -- Robert Frank, CNBC.com
