VANCOUVER, CANADA—Utah is the most generous state in the union based on charitable donations, according to Generosity in the United States and Canada: The 2009 Generosity Index (U.S. Edition), a new report released today by the Fraser Institute, a leading free-market think tank.

The 2009 Generosity Index measures and compares monetary generosity using readily available data on the extent and depth of charitable donations as recorded on personal income tax returns from all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

The report shows that Utah is the top-ranked jurisdiction nationwide for generosity, with 33.7 percent of tax filers claiming a charitable donation on their income tax returns, donating 3.66 percent of the total income earned in the state to registered charities. Maryland is second overall, with 39.9 percent of tax filers making donations totaling 1.97 percent of aggregate income, and Washington, D.C. places third, with 32.8 percent of tax filers donating 2.15 percent of aggregate income.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Louisiana places 49th and North Dakota 50th on the U.S. Generosity Index, slightly ahead of bottom-ranked West Virginia. On percentage of tax filers donating to charity, only South Dakota (14.9 percent), North Dakota (14.8 percent), and West Virginia (11.9 percent) fail to reach the 16-percent threshold, and North Dakota (0.94 percent) and West Virginia (0.84 percent) are the only states to fall short of the one-percent threshold on the percentage of aggregate income donated to charity.

“The rankings show there is a significant difference between states when it comes to both the proportion of tax filers who claim charitable donations and the share of aggregate income donated,” said Niels Veldhuis, Fraser Institute director of fiscal studies.

“This generosity gap between states limits the power and potential of charities to improve the quality of life across the country.”

Though not used to calculate the Generosity Index, the report also includes data on average charitable donations in 51 U.S. jurisdictions. Wyoming ($11,011) tops the rankings, followed by South Dakota ($7,807) and Washington, D.C. ($7,770) in second and third, respectively. Rhode Island ($2,810) ranks last among U.S. jurisdictions. On a national level, the average U.S. charitable donation was $4,623.

Elements of the Generosity Index also rank Canadian provinces and territories alongside U.S. jurisdictions. In this overall measurement, U.S. jurisdictions dominate the upper rankings of the Index.

“These results confirm the long-standing fact that there is a substantial gap in generosity between the United States and Canada,” Veldhuis said.

“Americans consistently give more in charitable donations than Canadians.”