Study: Exeter Residents Less Generous Than Average Americans
The Chronicle of Philanthropy has released detailed information on philanthropy by state, county, town and zip code.
The percentage of income Exeter residents give to charity is less than the national average, according to a study released today.
However, those making the least amount of money in Exeter give the most, percentage-wise.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy's "How America Gives" study reported that Exeter residents, with a median discretionary income of $67,484, had a median contribution of 2.9 percent, or $1,946, of their income to charity in 2008, the tax year for which data was collected. Exeter ranks 17,621 out of 28,725 communities nationwide in this regard.
By way of comparison, the county, state, and country's median contribution was 3.0 percent, 2.5 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. New Hampshire reported charitable contributions that totaled 2.5 percent of discretionary income – the lowest among the 50 states. (See chart below.)
| Geographic Area | Median Discretionary Income | Percentage Donated | Dollar Amount Donated | |
| Exeter | $67,484 | 2.9 | $1,946 | |
| Rockingham County |
$48,640 | 3.0 | $1,459 | |
| New Hampshire | $59,269 | 2.5 | $1,497 | |
| United States | $54,783 | 4.7 | $2,564 |
The study is based on exact dollar amounts released by the Internal Revenue Service that show the value of charitable deductions claimed by American taxpayers in 2008.
The Chronicle’s rankings show the percentage of their income that households donated from the money they had left after paying their taxes and covering housing, food, and other essential expenses.
Detailed data is searchable by zip code.
While The Chronicle used averages to compare towns, readers may also search by income bracket. The study shows that those making the least money in Exeter donated the largest percentage of their income. The tax returns reporting median discretionary income of $50,000 to $99,999 in Exeter gave an average of 3.9 percent, or $1,342.
Those making $100,000-$199,999 reportedly gave 2.8 percent and those making more than $200,000 gave 3.1 percent.
Robert Prior
7:43 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
What a poorly written and researched 'news' article. If you are going to use 'cut-and-paste' journalism, at least get the town right. Is the article about Exeter or Nashua? Using the link you provided and searching for Exeter (not the 03833 Zip which includes other towns) shows that our giving is at 2.9% and that we rank 2,012 out of 11,522 communities in the U.S. I believe a retraction of your inflammatory and inaccurate headline and a properly written article are needed.
--Bob Prior
Paula Francese
1:28 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The numbers may be a little squirely, but let's assume for a minute that they're correct. The headline could have been stated more positively - that is that Exeter contributes more on average than the rest of the state. It still appears to be true that New England overall is not in a giving mood. This has been true for years.
Overtaxed
7:54 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Have you seen the tax rate in Exeter ?? Might be a reason why we don't donate as much.
LCS
11:30 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Past studies have shown that the state gives less monetarily, but much more in time. Since time is money, we probably give a lot more than this limited study allows.
Dennis Acton
12:04 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
When I was raising money to bring NH-based medical teams down to Haiti after the earthquake, I found support from many Exeter residents who wanted to know their money was going right to patients in need rather than getting wasted or redirected to other disasters. Thanks again to everyone who donated to our successful mission. nebcofoundation.org