Have A Big, Charitable Heart? Maybe You Belong In These Cities

Have A Big, Charitable Heart? Maybe You Belong In These Cities

Cities can make names for themselves based off of lots of things -- delicious pizza, American-made cars and a terrific live music scene, to name a few.

But if any should lay claim to having the best, top-notch nonprofits, Houston reigns supreme.

The Texas city's philanthropic community was rated the best by Charity Navigator out of 30 major metropolitan areas across the U.S. The group evaluated thousands of organizations -- segmented by area -- on a variety of telling factors: fundraising efficiency, financial transparency and program expenses, among others.

Houston was ranked second in last year's results behind St. Louis, which dropped from the top 10 in 2015.

"Philanthropy is an integral part of each of these great cities,” Sandra Miniutti, vice president of Charity Navigator, said in a statement regarding the results. “Not one of these marketplaces ranks below a 3-star, 'good' rating, for which donors and nonprofit leaders should be commended. But each city presents unique challenges and opportunities to the charities that call it home."

Although Miniutti praised all regions analyzed in the study, there may be room for improvement among the charities in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which ranked dead last of the 30 areas considered.

As far as the city with the most charitable residents? Houston might find some stiff competition in Seattle.

To see the full results by Charity Navigator, click here. Scroll below to see which metropolitan areas ranked in the top five.

5
Miami
Photo: DOUG COLLIER/AFP/Getty Images
Overall score: 87.90
4
Los Angeles
Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Overall score: 87.92
3
Boston
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Overall score: 87.98
2
San Diego
Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images
Overall score: 89.08
1
Houston
Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images
Overall score: 89.46

To take action on pressing poverty issues, check out the Global Citizen's widget below.

Before You Go

10
San Jose, California
Ken Lund/Flickr
9
Boston, Massachusetts
brentdanley/Flickr
8
Seattle, Washington
Maëlick/Flickr
7
Portland, Oregon
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6
Denver, Colorado
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5
Sacramento, California
www78/Flickr
4
San Francisco, California
jeffgunn/Flickr
3
San Diego, California
Justin in SD/Flickr
2
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dougtone/Flickr
1
Washington, D.C.
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