NJ trails most states in charitable giving

A new survey finds New Jersey is one of the least charitable states in the country.

WalletHub.com says the Garden State ranked 47th in the United States in charitable giving in 2014.

"Only 2 percent of Jersey's gross income was donated to charity," said Jill Gonzales, WalletHub spokeswoman. "New Jersey is at the bottom of the list."

We share that low charity giving rate with a number of other states in the Northeast, including New York (40th), Pennsylvania (35th), and Delaware (37th).

The survey also showed New Jersey lacked any growth in charitable giving between 2006 and 2012. Gonzales speculated that may be because New Jersey was socked hard by the Great Recession. In fact, many believe the Garden State is still trying to get back on its feet from the economic downturn.

Additionally, the figures show New Jersey 45th among states in its volunteer rate.

"That is something that New Jersey could really use a boost in," Gonzales said.

We came in 47th for percentage of donated time in the WalletHub report.

The survey shows the No. 1 most generous state was Utah, followed by South Dakota, Idaho, Kansas, and Nebraska. Overall, the U.S. and Myanmar top the list of most charitable countries. Statistics show that about 30 percent of annual giving in the U.S. takes place during the month of December.