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The value of a volunteer hour jumped 3.9% during 2025 to $36.14 per hour, with volunteers in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., clocking in at $54.77, the highest in the country. The increase exceeds the overall annual inflation rate in the United States for 2025 which was 2.7%, according to official U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data.
The lowest hourly rate was found in Puerto Rico at $17.99. The state with the lowest hourly rate was Mississippi at $28.39.
The top five locale values were: District of Columbia ($54.77); Washington State ($42.98); Massachusetts ($42.92); California ($41.75); and, Colorado ($39.99). The five lowest values were Puerto Rico ($17.99); Mississippi ($28.39); New Mexico ($29.66); Louisiana ($30.12); and, Kentucky ($30.60). Georgia experienced the highest rate of growth with the value of a volunteer hour increasing 7.9% (from $32.63 to $35.22) year-over-year.
The data is from the annual research by Independent Sector and the Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland. Estimated from data collected in 2025 (the last full year for which data are available), it illustrates the valuable and significant contributions volunteers make every day to support our communities and nation.
The state and national estimates of the value of volunteer time are calculated using a methodology based on the annual average hourly earnings (non-seasonally adjusted) for all production and non-supervisory workers on private non-farm payrolls. These annual earnings estimates come from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) database, which is available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). As of April 21, 2026, the Bureau of Labor Statistics had not released final data at either the state or national level. However, BLS did release preliminary wage data for 2025, which is used to determine the current Value of Volunteer Time. Historical differences between the preliminary and final estimates published by CES in prior years indicate final estimates are unlikely to be dramatically different from preliminary data, according to information from Independent Sector.
“For the past 250 years, volunteerism has served as an engine of American civic life. Before our founding fathers touched quill to paper to sign our Declaration of Independence, Americans have been volunteering their time and energy to the causes and communities they believe in — aiding wounded soldiers in the Revolutionary War, advocating for the abolition of slavery, marching for civil rights, and raising funds to support those left behind by the other sectors of our society,” Independent Sector President and CEO Akilah Watkins, Ph.D., said via a statement.
The work of volunteers is especially important to America’s 1.9 million nonprofits. Watkins added. According to 2025 research from Urban Institute, three in four (75%) nonprofit organizations leaders said that volunteers are important to their operations, with nearly one-quarter (23%) entirely dependent on volunteers. “While it is impossible to capture the immense contribution of the U.S. volunteer force into a dollar amount, the Value of Volunteer Time serves as an important representation of the economic and social value of the millions of hours Americans dedicate to service every year. Whether you’ve donated a single afternoon or volunteer every day, we in the charitable sector owe you a debt of gratitude,” Watkins said via the statement.
Nathan Dietz, research director at the Do Good Institute, said via a statement: “Once again, the increase is real and not just due to inflation,” and that “the state-level estimates on the U.S. map also show how much these estimates vary by region and by state. This variation is due to differences in the cost of living, not in the actual value that volunteers bring to American communities: throughout the country, volunteers are working together, and with local organizations, to help their neighbors.”
An example of what Dietz described can be seen when comparing North Dakota ($35.13) and South Dakota ($31.72), a difference of $3.41. North Dakota’s economy is heavily reliant on oil extraction and agriculture, mainly wheat and corn. South Dakota has a more diversified economy, even though still agricultural from soybeans and corn. Tourism plays a bigger part in South Dakota’s economy.
For more on the Value of Volunteer Time, the methodology, and to explore historical national and state-level data, visit independentsector.org/value-of-volunteer-time.
