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The Decline of Volunteering in the United States: Is it the Economy?

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca Nesbit
  • Laurie E. Paarlberg
  • Suyeon Jo

Abstract

This article investigates the complex interactions between local and national economic contexts and volunteering behavior. We examine three dimensions of local economic context—economic disadvantage (e.g., the percentage of families living in poverty), income inequality, and economic growth (e.g., the change in median household income) and the impact of a national/global economic jolt—the Great Recession. Analysis of data from the Current Population Survey’s (CPS) Volunteering Supplement (2002-2015) reveals. Individuals who live in places characterized by economic disadvantage and economic inequality are less likely to volunteer than individuals in more advantaged, equitable communities. The recession had a dampening effect on volunteering overall, but it had the largest dampening effect on individual volunteering in communities with above average rates of income equality and higher rates of economic growth. While individuals living in rural communities were more likely to volunteer than their urban counterparts before the recession, rural/urban differences disappear after the recession.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca Nesbit & Laurie E. Paarlberg & Suyeon Jo, 2025. "The Decline of Volunteering in the United States: Is it the Economy?," Working Papers 25-41, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    • Handle: RePEc:cen:wpaper:25-41
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    File URL: https://www2.census.gov/library/working-papers/2025/adrm/ces/CES-WP-25-41.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2025
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2018. "CommentaryThe revenge of the places that don’t matter (and what to do about it)," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 11(1), pages 189-209.
    2. Andres Rodriguez-Pose, 2018. "The revenge of the places that don?t matter (and what to do about it)," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1805, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jan 2018.
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