Are Freehold Residents Charitable?

Freehold residents are quite generous, according to a new study conducted by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.  

The study, which focused on 28,725 towns in the United States, broke down how much money resident’s donated to charities with figures in 2008. Out of 28,725 towns Freehold came in at number 835, with total contributions equaling out to $27.7 million dollars.

The data showed that median contribution from Freehold residents equaled to $2,120. The survey also mentioned that the median income in the study was $65,911 meaning, 3.2 percent of a household's income was given to charitable causes.

The survey further explained that Freehold residents that make between $50,000 and $99,999 donated on average 5 percent of their income to charities.  Residents making $100,000 to $199,999 averaged donating 3 percent of their income while those making $200,000 and more donated 2.4 percent of their income to charitable causes.

On a larger scale, Monmouth County ranked 67 out of 3,115 counties with residents donating 4.2 percent of their income, equaling $406.1 million in donations.

As a state, New Jersey comes in at number 8 out of 51 with 3.7 percent of income being donated. Total contributions from New Jersey total $4.5 billion.

The study found that Utah residents gave 10.6 percent of their disposable income away to charitable causes, the most in the nation; the Upper East Side of Manhattan's 10021 donated the highest dollar amount of any zip code; and New Hampshire residents were the most tight-fisted, giving away only 2.5 percent of discretionary income. 

The study was based on Internal Revenue Service records of Americans who itemized deductions in 2008. More on the study can be found at the Journal of Philanthropy's "How America Gives" website.