The Current Population Survey Civic Engagement and Volunteering (CEV) Supplement is the most robust longitudinal survey about volunteerism and other forms of civic engagement in the United States. Produced by AmeriCorps in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, the CEV takes the pulse of our nation’s civic health every two years. The CEV can support evidence-based decision making and efforts to understand how people make a difference in communities across the country.
The findings on this page are based on data collected in September of 2017, 2019, and 2021. All figures are weighted to account for the random selection of eligible respondents and missing data due to nonresponse. They reflect state-level rates of six key measures of civic engagement:
FORMAL VOLUNTEERING: the estimated share of state residents who spent any time volunteering for any organization or association in the past year.
INFORMAL HELPING: the estimated share of state residents who exchanged favors with neighbors such as house sitting, watching each other’s children, lending tools, and other things to help each other at least once in the past year.
ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIP: the estimated share of state residents who belonged to any groups, organizations, or associations in the past year.
CHARITABLE GIVING: the estimated share of state residents who gave money or possessions with a combined value of more than $25 to a non-political group or organization such as a charity, school, or religious organization in the past year.
TALKING WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY: the estimated share of state residents who talked to or spent time with friends and family at least once in the past year.
TALKING WITH NEIGHBORS: the estimated share of state residents who had a conversation or spent time with neighbors at least once in the past year.
A spreadsheet with all of these figures is provided as an attachment along with additional resources about the CEV data. Click on "Show More" to view and download.
