Do Martinez Residents Give Enough to Charity?

How much is your area giving to charities? A new national study details the generosity in America's communities.

Compared to other parts of the East Bay, Martinez residents are generous when it comes to charitable giving, according to a study released Monday by "The Chronicle of Philanthropy."

Martinez residents making between $50k and $99,999 donated an average contribution of $1,412, or 5 percent of an an average discretionary income of $24,963. 

The difference in giving is reflected nationally in what the "The Chronicle of Philanthropy" has dubbed the Generosity Divide. 

The study was based on Internal Revenue Service records of Americans who itemized deductions. It gives ZIP-code level detail about the percentage of discretionary income that people gave to charity.

The study found:

• States that voted Republican in the last presidential election are far more likely to be generous to charities than those that voted Democratic. The top eight states in giving preferred John McCain over Barack Obama.
• Utah was the No. 1 state in giving at 10.6 percent, with Salt Lake City as the most giving city. By contrast, residents in Massachusetts and three other New England states give less than 3 percent. New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey and Rhode Island are the least-generous states.
• Lower-income people give a far bigger share of their income to charities than the wealthy.
• Rich people who live in areas with mostly wealthy people give a smaller share of their incomes to charity than rich people in economically diverse areas.
• Regions that are deeply religious give more than those that are not. Two of the top 10 states—Utah and Idaho—have high numbers of Mormons, who tithe more consistently than other churches. The other states in the top 10 are all in the so-called Bible Belt.

The Chronicle website also features an interactive map looking at how America gives.

What do you think about these findings? Tell us in the comments.