Arlington has once again ranked as one of the most generous localities in the nation, by one measure.
The county clocked in at No. 1 in Charity Navigator’s latest ranking of the most charitable “cities” with a population between 200,001 and 500,000 people.
The average Arlingtonian donated $1.14 this year through the nonprofit evaluator’s “Giving Basket,” which allows donors to support multiple charities in one checkout. That’s a little more than last year, when Arlington also ranked No. 1 after residents donated $1.07 per capita using the Giving Basket tool.
Nationwide, the Giving Basket raised about $35 million this year.
Neighboring Alexandria also made the ranking, coming in at No. 9 on the list of medium cities with 38 cents in donations per capita. And Silver Spring ranked just below Arlington, with per capita donations of 85 cents.
D.C. residents were also fans of Charity Navigator, donating about 70 cents per capita to rank No. 2 in the ranking of large cities. Elsewhere in the region, Annandale ranked No. 3 and Bethesda ranked No. 7 on the small cities ranking.
“Arlington stood out for its exceptional generosity and commitment to supporting local causes,” a spokesperson said in an email.
The “Most Charitable Cities” report is just one measure of local giving. In total across the United States, individuals donated about $392 billion in 2024, according to Giving USA.
