Well pretty close says the source of all sources…Men’s Health :-)  This month’s “MetroGrades” focussed on cities that were most giving during the holiday season — also noting the cities that were less magnanimous.

Madison took top spot as the most charitable holiday but Austin was right in the mix at #5 .  Other notable Texas cities (on the higher end of the “charitable spectrum”) included Houston at #28, San Antonio at #31, and  Lubbock rounded off the top half at #50 (“Highest” and “Lowest” Contribution cities with their MetroGrade included below)

How They Rated Each City & The “Online Factor”

“To find the most giving cities, we first factored in who’s making the largest online charitable donations during the holidays (from Convio, a software provider for nonprofits).”

The more Tangible Metrics?

- Donations given to Goodwill in December
- Donations given to Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign in December
- Number of toys donated to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

How Do You “Define” Donation Nations’ “Cities”?…

The the “definition” of a city always seems to create comparison problems. Whatever the semantics, Los Angeles isn’t a city, it’s a Metropolis with a population of over 4 Million. How do you compare the “New Yorks” to the “Madisons”, & “Austins”…or even the “larger small cities” like Washington, DC or San Francisco?

Does anyone really care about the “city definition” in the context of this list? It doesn’t bother me. But when the mass media uses broad boundary generalizations to define real estate markets, it may very well create more compelling data, but it also surely sacrifices accuracy. It can be defined as nothing but irresponsible. And this is precisely why those of you interested in real estate information need to find a reputable local resource, like Eric’s here, and stay in the loop.

…Speaking of Real Estate & Thoughts?

You’ll see I’ve included the list of “Most Charitable” and “Least Charitable” cities according to MetroGrades.  Given that small glimpse, I ask for your thoughts?.

• Thoughts on how the real estate market may have effected this list? Any patterns?
• Thoughts about better ways to summarize data without over-generalizing?
• Anything else you’d like to contribute is always welcome, too…

MetroGrades Rankings

“Most Charitable”
1. Madison, WI (A+)
2. Richmond, VA (A)
3. Seattle, WA (A)
4. Cincinnati, OH (A)
5. Austin, TX (A-)
6. Spokane, WA (A-)
7. Columbia, SC (A-)
8. Pittsburg, PA (A-)
9. Tampa, FL (A-)
10. Norfolk, VA (A-)
11. Charlotte, NC (B+)
12. Salt Lake City (B+)
13 Omaha, NE (B+)
14. Cheyenne, WY (B+)
15. Willmington, DE (B+)
16. Portland, OR (B+)
17. Atlanta, GA (B+)
18. St Louis, MO (B+)
19. Birmingham, AL (B+)
20. Burlington, VT (B)

“Less Charitable”
80. Corpus Christi, TX (D)
81. Fremont, CA (D)
82. Phladelphia, CA (D)
83. Buffalo, NY (D)
84. Baltimore, MD (D)
85 Poenix AZ (D)
86. Anaheim, CA (D-)
87. Cleveland, OH (D-)
88. Kansas City, MO (D-)
89. Little Rock, AR (D-)
90. Jersey City, NJ (F)
91. Jackson, MS (F)
92. Columbus, OH (F)
93. Riverside, CA (F)
94, Oklahoma City, OK (F)
95, Los Angeles, CA (F)
96, New York, NY (F)
97. Fresno, CA (F)
98. Nework, NJ (F)
99. El Paso, TX (F)
100. Yonkers, NY (F)

Licensed in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C., Kevin Koitz, with The Koitz Group @ Long and Foster RE specializes in high end Washington DC real estate and surrounding luxury communities in Montgomery County Maryland & Northern Virginia. Visit his Bethesda Real Estate blog or his Chevy Chase Real Estate guide to get a flavor for some of finest communities in the DC Metropolitan Area.