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Volunteering data · AmeriCorps, 2017 to 2023

Volunteering rate in Georgia

Updated October 2026

People in Georgia volunteer at about the same rate as Americans overall. The 2023 figures were 25.6% and 28.3%. Informal help is rarer as well: 47.3% helped neighbors or friends, the third-lowest of any state.

  • 25.6%of residents 16 and older volunteered through an organization in 2023, plus or minus 3.0 points. National rate: 28.3%.
  • 40th of 51among the 50 states and DC. 16 states are too close to call.
  • 2.2 millionvolunteers in 2023, give or take 259,000.
  • 167 millionhours given in 2023, or 19.3 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

In 2019, 28.2% of residents volunteered. That went to 19.9% in 2021 and 25.6% in 2023. The survey can't tell 2023 from 2019 here: the 2.6-point gap is inside the margin of error. The gain since 2021, 5.7 points, is beyond the margin of error.

0%20%40%60%’17’19’21’23Georgia 2017: 26.5%, plus or minus 2.8 pointsGeorgia 2019: 28.2%, plus or minus 3.1 pointsGeorgia 2021: 19.9%, plus or minus 2.3 pointsGeorgia 2023: 25.6%, plus or minus 3.0 points28.3%25.6%
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
201726.5%±2.8 points
201928.2%±3.1 points
202119.9%±2.3 points
202325.6%±3.0 points

Georgia and its neighbors

Georgia borders five states. Tennessee clearly runs higher and Florida and Alabama clearly run lower; the others are too close to call.

Place2023 rateAgainst Georgia
Georgia (this page)25.6% 
Tennessee33.2%Clearly higher
South Carolina28.8%Too close to call
North Carolina24.9%Too close to call
Florida20.4%Clearly lower
Alabama19.9%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 Georgia help out than sign up. In 2023, 47.3% of residents helped neighbors or friends outside any organization, about 21.7 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 Georgia volunteer gave 30 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, 25.6% of Georgia residents 16 and older volunteered through an organization, giving about 167 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.

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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 Georgia 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 Georgia?

In 2023, 25.6% of Georgia residents 16 and older volunteered through an organization, plus or minus 3.0 points. The national rate was 28.3%. Source: AmeriCorps and U.S. Census Bureau, Volunteering and Civic Life in America.

How does Georgia rank for volunteering?

Georgia has the 12th-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 29th and 45th.

Has volunteering in Georgia recovered since the pandemic?

It looks close. The 2023 rate of 25.6% is below the 2019 rate of 28.2%, but the gap is inside the margin of error.

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