Study Says NK Residents Less Generous Than Average American

North Kingstown residents give less to charity than most Americans, but slightly more than most Rhode Islanders give, according to a study released this week.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy's "How America Gives" study reported that NK residents, with a median discretionary income of $62,130, had a median contribution of 3.4 percent, or $2,108, of their income to charity in 2008, the tax year for which data was collected.

Households making less than $100,000 gave more than those in the higher income levels. According to the study, those in the lower bracket with an average discretionary income of $32,779 gave 4.6 percent of their income (roughly $1,500 per home) versus the 3.1 percent (roughly $2,499) of those making between $100,000 and $199,999 with an average discretionary income of $81,364.

On the whole, North Kingstown residents gave at a slightly higher clip than the state average of 3.1 percent, giving $13.2 million total. But the town, South County and the state as a whole fall well short of the national average of 4.7 percent. (See chart below.)

The study is based on exact dollar amounts released by the Internal Revenue Service that show the value of charitable deductions claimed by American taxpayers in 2008. 

The Chronicle’s rankings show the percentage of their income that households donated from the money they had left after paying their taxes and covering housing, food, and other essential expenses.

Detailed data is searchable by zip code.