Expanding the reach and impact of America's volunteers
Collected for the past 15 years, the Volunteering in America research is the most comprehensive data on American volunteering ever assembled, and it includes a volunteer data profile for all states and major metropolitan areas. Data includes volunteer rates, rankings, trends, and demographics represented nationally, by state, and in major metropolitan areas.
- Volunteering in America – States
- Volunteering in America – City Profiles
- Volunteering in America – Rankings
- Volunteering in America – Demographics
2019 Current Population Survey: Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement
Key findings:
- The national organization-based volunteering rate has remained stable over the past two decades.
- Consistent with previous research, 2019 volunteering rates vary by demographic, socioeconomic, and family characteristics.
- Volunteering represents only one dimension of a much larger array of civic activity in the U.S.
- Several questions raised by the 2019 CPS CEV warrant further investigation.
- The most recent wave of CPS CEV data collected in September 2021 offers unique opportunities to examine the impacts of COVID-19 and policy interventions on America’s civic health.
Highlighted research
Volunteering as a pathway to employment
Research from AmeriCorps on the link between volunteering and employment provides the most compelling empirical evidence to date that unemployed individuals who volunteer increase the odds that they will get a job.
Community factors that influence volunteering
This 2007 report uncovers what factors can influence a community’s volunteer rate. Items such as average commute times and education levels in a community can help us predict and understand the level of service and volunteering.