Community

Maintaining


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 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 does our county compare?

In 2020, the average charitable contribution in Lancaster County was $20,823, above the average for Pennsylvania ($14,586) and the U.S. ($15,934).

Although the average contribution per person appears to have doubled from prior years, this is primarily due to a change in tax law that altered the number and type of filers itemizing charitable contributions. This makes 2018, and any subsequent years, not directly comparable to prior years.

The average charitable contribution in 2020 was higher in Lancaster than in any surrounding county, including Berks ($12,619), Chester ($13,424), Cumberland ($12,063), Dauphin ($12,769), Lebanon ($17,249) and York ($14,413) counties.

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. No county or state data are available on charitable contributions by taxpayers who take the standard deduction.

Average Charitable Giving
2011201220132014201520162017201820192020
Pennsylvania$4,706$5,045$4,994$5,314$5,443$5,692$5,819$11,829$12,074$14,586
Lancaster County$5,967$6,461$6,478$6,999$7,485$7,537$7,712$16,834$19,087$20,823
Chester County$5,216$5,957$5,607$5,929$6,292$6,257$7,105$10,799$11,157$13,424
Cumberland County$4,521$4,840$4,851$5,046$4,993$5,166$5,290$10,611$10,643$12,063
Dauphin County$4,383$4,612$4,615$4,770$5,221$5,047$5,109$10,658$11,342$12,769
Lebanon County$4,866$5,107$5,352$5,575$6,000$5,820$5,897$13,504$13,897$17,249
York County$4,147$4,160$4,328$4,494$4,675$4,811$5,286$13,653$10,152$14,413
Berks County$3,677$3,937$3,989$4,730$4,255$4,323$4,633$11,260$11,401$12,619

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




Total Charitable Giving
2011201220132014201520162017201820192020
Pennsylvania$7,255,353,387$7,651,629,177$7,377,412,608$7,709,784,181$7,886,973,088$8,278,526,564$8,472,341,564$5,465,442,034$5,244,219,220$5,506,217,695
Lancaster County$405,952,064$432,942,538$423,305,350$449,519,744$480,332,472$489,670,282$504,258,234$330,947,554$360,357,445$359,817,789
Chester County$532,384,814$607,528,020$565,380,323$591,575,941$632,310,588$635,758,368$723,972,543$462,862,346$452,538,777$474,947,923
Cumberland County$154,432,144$163,535,141$160,421,749$162,672,882$161,414,512$167,594,573$171,391,399$98,360,123$93,018,651$93,125,750
Dauphin County$149,494,334$153,019,436$146,764,900$147,013,495$159,077,706$152,631,820$153,310,519$88,780,937$87,784,881$85,806,312
Lebanon County$71,996,377$73,443,523$75,250,511$76,771,171$82,681,079$82,530,539$84,861,631$48,075,062$47,110,287$51,229,790
York County$242,311,669$237,352,791$238,923,337$244,286,890$252,056,050$261,341,813$286,830,014$199,886,331$136,846,437$170,071,468
Berks County$188,074,061$197,729,474$195,300,746$226,063,581$203,638,213$207,873,089$222,916,822$137,602,737$129,281,955$122,785,653

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




INDICATORS TREND


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