Charity Navigator recently completed our seventh annual national study to determine and analyze any statistical differences that may exist in the financial practices of charities located in different metropolitan markets across America and to see if any differences exist in the financial performance of individual philanthropic communities from year to year.

Interactive Chart

Methodology
We began by segmenting the charities in our database into 30 major metropolitan markets.

• The 30 metro markets account for 55% of the 5,500 charities evaluated by Charity Navigator as of May 1, 2010.
• These charities generate 64% of the total revenue and 66% of the  total expenses.
• The largest market included 590 charities and the smallest comprised 30.

Using the data we've obtained from the charities' Forms 990, we calculated the median value of the following sixteen variables to reveal possible differences in financial practices of the various philanthropic metropolitan markets.

Results
Our analysis, completed in May of 2010, demonstrated that the financial behavior of America's largest charities is influenced by the metropolitan market within which the charity operates. For example, the high concentration of arts groups in Philadelphia reflects the importance of arts and culture to the people of Philadelphia and results in this philanthropic marketplace reporting higher administrative costs. We also learned that charities in New York City, where the cost of living is higher than just about anywhere else in the country, report the highest level of CEO pay. For more differences between cities, use the interactive chart on the right.

Press Release - June 1, 2010
The Most Charity-Conscious Cities in America

© 2010 Charity Navigator. Note: all data is based on Charity Navigator's June 2010 Metro Market Charitable Analysis Study. These sector reports do not claim to represent median data for all charities. Charity Navigator is the largest evaluator of 501 (c) (3) charities in the U.S.