State-Level Differences in Volunteerism in the United States

The volunteer rate in the United States varies from a high of 44% in Utah to a low of 18% in a bordering state, Nevada. Hierarchical nonlinear modeling techniques are used to test various theories such as demographic, institutional and cultural theory to explain general, religious, and secular volunteering with a nationally representative sample of nearly 300,000 respondents in 50 states. Household composition, race heterogeneity, and the density of nonprofit organizations influence the general volunteering rate. Religious volunteering is influenced by household composition, race heterogeneity, the density of religious congregations, and the religiosity of the residents of the state. The secular volunteer rate is influenced by household composition, race heterogeneity, and the density of nonprofit organizations.