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Volunteering data · AmeriCorps, 2017 to 2023
Volunteering rate in Pennsylvania
Updated October 2026
Volunteering in Pennsylvania tracks the country. The 2023 rate was 31.0%, the 26th-highest rate of the 50 states and DC. Pennsylvania is among the 11 states still clearly short of their 2019 level.
- 31.0%of residents 16 and older volunteered through an organization in 2023, plus or minus 3.1 points. National rate: 28.3%.
- 26th of 51among the 50 states and DC. 26 states are too close to call.
- 3.3 millionvolunteers in 2023, give or take 328,000.
- 195 millionhours given in 2023, or 18.6 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 35.8% in 2019, Pennsylvania dropped to 25.6% in 2021 and reached 31.0% in 2023. The 2023 figure is 4.8 points under 2019 and clearly under the 2017 to 2019 average. Both gaps are too wide to put down to chance, which puts Pennsylvania among the 11 states clearly below their pre-pandemic level. The rise from 2021, 5.4 points, is real: it's past the margin of error.
| Year | Rate | Margin of error |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 34.2% | ±2.7 points |
| 2019 | 35.8% | ±2.3 points |
| 2021 | 25.6% | ±3.1 points |
| 2023 | 31.0% | ±3.1 points |
Pennsylvania and its neighbors
Pennsylvania borders six states. New Jersey, New York and West Virginia clearly run lower; the others are too close to call.
| Place | 2023 rate | Against Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania (this page) | 31.0% | |
| Maryland | 32.8% | Too close to call |
| Delaware | 32.0% | Too close to call |
| Ohio | 30.3% | Too close to call |
| New Jersey | 25.7% | Clearly lower |
| New York | 25.5% | Clearly lower |
| West Virginia | 23.0% | 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 Pennsylvania help out than sign up. In 2023, 62.3% of residents helped neighbors or friends outside any organization, about 31.3 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 Pennsylvania volunteer gave 25 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, 31.0% of Pennsylvania residents 16 and older volunteered through an organization, giving about 195 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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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 Pennsylvania 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).