Study Says Stoughton Residents Less Generous Than Average American

The percentage of income Stoughton residents give to charity is more than the state average, but less than the average in the county and across the country, according to a study released this week.

Interestingly, those making less in Stoughton give the most, percentage-wise.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy's "How America Gives" study reported that Stoughton residents, with a median discretionary income of $53,101, had a median contribution of 2.9 percent, or $1,537, of their income to charity in 2008, the tax year for which data was collected.

By way of comparison, the median contribution for Norfolk County was 3.0%; the median contribution for the state was 2.8%; and the median contribution for the country was 4.7%.

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 reporting median discretionary income of $50,000 to $99,999 in Stoughton - the lowest bracket in the study -  gave an average of 3.9 percent.

Those making $100,000-$199,999 reportedly gave 2.6 percent and those more than $200,000 gave 2.4 percent.

Stoughton's residents in the 45-64 and 64+ age brackets were most generous, with the percentage of contributions coming from these age brackets exceeding the county, state and country averages. Meanwhile, the percentage of contributions from Stoughton residents under 20, between 20-29 and between 30-44 were all below county, state and country averages.

So Stoughton, we want to know ... What do you think of the results of the study?