New study of IRS data: about 57,000 nonprofits a year lose tax-exempt status after three years without filing. Find your state

Home / Resources / Volunteering by state / Arizona

Volunteering data · AmeriCorps, 2017 to 2023

Volunteering rate in Arizona

Updated October 2026

Arizona's rate is the 22nd-lowest of the 50 states and DC. In 2023, 30.0% of residents 16 and older volunteered through an organization, near the national 28.3%. State samples are small, so its place could really be as high as 11th or as low as 41st.

  • 30.0%of residents 16 and older volunteered through an organization in 2023, plus or minus 4.2 points. National rate: 28.3%.
  • 30th of 51among the 50 states and DC. 30 states are too close to call.
  • 1.8 millionvolunteers in 2023, give or take 251,000.
  • 156 millionhours given in 2023, or 26.0 for each resident 16 and older. National figure: 18.7.

Source: AmeriCorps and U.S. Census Bureau, Volunteering and Civic Life in America, 2017 to 2023. Margins of error and hours: Ember analysis of the same survey.

The trend since 2017

From 26.2% in 2019, Arizona dropped to 23.5% in 2021 and reached 30.0% in 2023. The survey can't tell 2023 from 2019 here: the 3.8-point gap is inside the margin of error. It did climb clearly from the 2021 low, by 6.5 points.

0%20%40%60%’17’19’21’23Arizona 2017: 30.0%, plus or minus 3.2 pointsArizona 2019: 26.2%, plus or minus 2.7 pointsArizona 2021: 23.5%, plus or minus 3.4 pointsArizona 2023: 30.0%, plus or minus 4.2 points30.0%28.3%
Share of residents 16 and older who volunteered through an organization. Every state's chart uses the same scale, and 2021 was the pandemic low nationally. Source: AmeriCorps and U.S. Census Bureau, Volunteering and Civic Life in America, 2017 to 2023. Margins of error and hours: Ember analysis of the same survey.
YearRateMargin of error
201730.0%±3.2 points
201926.2%±2.7 points
202123.5%±3.4 points
202330.0%±4.2 points

Arizona and its neighbors

Arizona borders four states. Utah clearly runs higher and California, New Mexico and Nevada clearly run lower.

Place2023 rateAgainst Arizona
Arizona (this page)30.0% 
Utah46.6%Clearly higher
California24.1%Clearly lower
New Mexico20.3%Clearly lower
Nevada18.6%Clearly lower

"Clearly" means the gap between two rates is wider than their combined 90% margin of error.

What this means if you run volunteers

More people in Arizona help out than sign up. In 2023, 52.4% of residents helped neighbors or friends outside any organization, about 22.4 points more than volunteered through one. The two groups overlap, but some of those helpers would never call themselves volunteers. A specific ask for a specific shift can change that. Our guide to recruiting volunteers has ways to make that ask.

The typical Arizona volunteer gave 36 hours in the year, against 24 nationally. If your own volunteers give more than that, it's worth saying so in a report.

Use this number in a grant or report

In 2023, 30.0% of Arizona residents 16 and older volunteered through an organization, giving about 156 million hours (AmeriCorps and U.S. Census Bureau, Volunteering and Civic Life in America; hours are an Ember analysis of the same survey).

To put your own program's hours in dollars, use the volunteer hour value calculator. To see every state side by side, go to volunteering rates by state. Ember Impact Reports shows the volunteer hours each program took and counts them in what the work cost, free if your budget is under $50K a year.

Get the next study in your inbox

Want the next one? We'll email you when Ember publishes its next study of public nonprofit data. That's all this list sends.

Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy

Every state

Pick a region to narrow the list.

How this was measured

AmeriCorps and the Census Bureau ask this every two years, in September, in the Civic Engagement and Volunteering supplement to the Current Population Survey. A person counts as a volunteer if they gave time through an organization in the past 12 months, and the rate covers residents 16 and older. The state rates here are AmeriCorps' published figures. Margins of error, tests and hours are our own work from the survey's public files, using the Census Bureau's replicate weights, at 90% confidence.

Each state's sample is small, so treat the ranking as a rough order. September 2023 is the newest state reading available. The figures describe Arizona as a whole, not any one organization.

Sources: AmeriCorps and U.S. Census Bureau, Volunteering and Civic Life in America: state rates, 2017 to 2023 (public domain; read October 9, 2026) and Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement data. Hours, margins of error, tests and neighbor comparisons are Ember's analysis of the same survey (free CSV, every column on this page).

Common questions

What percentage of people volunteer in Arizona?

In 2023, 30.0% of Arizona residents 16 and older volunteered through an organization, plus or minus 4.2 points. The national rate was 28.3%. Source: AmeriCorps and U.S. Census Bureau, Volunteering and Civic Life in America.

How does Arizona rank for volunteering?

Arizona has the 22nd-lowest rate of the 50 states and DC and is too close to call against the national rate. Allowing for margins of error, its place falls between 11th and 41st.

Has volunteering in Arizona recovered since the pandemic?

It looks that way. The 2023 rate of 30.0% is at or above the 2019 rate of 26.2%.

Your privacy choices

We use cookies to improve this site and our ads. Analytics cookies show us how the site is used. Ad cookies (Google, Meta) measure our ads and help show them to people likely to find Ember useful.

We honor Global Privacy Control automatically: if your browser sends it, ad cookies stay off.

Read our privacy policy