Warren Residents Kick In $25 Million to Charities

From local charities to school clubs, Warren residents face a steady barrage of requests for charitable giving, and according to a study published Monday in “The Chronicle of Philanthropy,” local residents gave more than $25 million in 2011.
The study is based on Internal Revenue Service records of those who itemized deductions. It was a six-month long data research study, and ranks the generosity of all 50 states, all 366 metropolitan areas and every zip code in America.

The study ranked Warren 1,002 out of 28,725 communities, and found Warren residents gave an average amount of contributions totaling $5,141— far above the average even for New Jersey ($2,181). As a percentage of income, Waren residents gave 2.9 percent—below the state average of 3.7 percent. 

In comparison, the average percentage in the United States is 4.7 percent given, or about $2,564 for an average income of $54,783.

In New Jersey, the average is 3.7 percent, or $2,181 out of $59,113.

And in Somerset County, the average is 4 percent, or $2,366 out of $59,578.

In total, the findings, according to the study, found that throughout the country lower-income people give bigger shares of their discretionary incomes to charities than wealthier people. And those who make between $50,000 and $75,000 gave an average of 7.6 percent of their discretionary incomes, as opposed to 4.2 percent for people who make $100,000 or more.

Warren followed this trend, with residents with incomes between $50,000 and $99,999 giving an average of $1,726, or 7.4 percent of their discretionary income, while residents making between $100,000 and $199,999 giving $2,774, or 3.5 percent of their discretionary income, and those earning more than $200,000 giving $10,986, or 2.6 percent of income (1,800 residents fell into this group, with an average discretionary income of $425,272 reported).   

In addition, the study found that New Jersey is one of the least generous states, along with New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, although it ranked eighth in the nation in total contributions.

For more information on the study, click here.