The last weeks of every year are ceremoniously devoted to thinking about others—wrapping gifts, donating to charity, and volunteering time to those in need. This year is no different, especially considering the destruction on the East Coast caused by Hurricane Sandy.
In honor of the start of the season, The Daily Beast combed available statistics to calculate which cities have given the most in previous years, in terms of donations to charity and volunteerism. We considered four data points: the volunteer rate and average annual volunteer hours per resident according to the Corporation for National and Community Service, and the median amount of charitable contributions and percent of income donated to charity according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. All factors were weighted equally.