STUDY: Melrose Less Charitable Than State, Country

"The Chronicle of Philanthropy" published their "How America Gives" study which reported that Melrose residents, with a median discretionary income of $63,540, gave a median contribution of $1,698 of their income to charity in 2008—the tax year when the data was gathered. 

Meanwhile, the state and country's median contribution was 2.8 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, compared to Melrose's 2.7 percent. Melrosians contributed a total of $11.2 million, according to the study.

Here's a complete breakdown of the data compiled during the study:

City/Town

Total
Contributions 

Median
Contribution Median Discretionary
Income  Percent of      
Income Given Ranking Arlington $11.5 million $1,721 $59,651 2.9%    3,337 of
28,725 Lynnfield $8.2 million $1,981 $74,778 2.6% 4,855 of
28,725 Malden $8.5 million $1,277 $40,126 3.2% 4,719 of
28,725 Medford $13.7 million $1,398 $48,929 2.9% 2,792 of
28,725 Melrose $11.2 million $1,698 $63,540 2.7% 3,591 of
28,725 North Reading $6.8 million $1,616 $68,364 2.4% 5,650 of
28,725 Reading $12.9 million $1,767 $70,083 2.5% 3,038 of
28,725  Somerville $11.4 million $1,267 $44,003 2.9% 1,988 of
11,522 Stoneham $7.4 million $1,419 $55,570 2.6% 5,326 of
28,725  Tewksbury $9.3 million $1,216 $56,267 2.2% 4,404 of
28,725  Wakefield $9.6 million $1,485 $60,222 2.5% 4,211 of
28,725  Wilmington $7.3 million $1,363 $61,052 2.2% 5,392 of
28,725  Winchester $29.9 million $4,350 $140,438 3.1% 708 of
28,725  Boston-Cambridge-Quincy Metro Area $2.5 billion $1,719 $60,312 2.8% 10 of 366 Massachusetts $3.1 billion $1,652 $58,099 2.8% 14 of 51 United States $135.8 billion $2,564 $54,783 4.7%

Detailed data is searchable by zip code.

What do you make of the study? Do you give to charities on a regular basis? Let us know by posting a comment in the comments section below.