This shouldn't come as a shock to anybody who has lived in Wyoming for any extended period of time, but the Cowboy State has been ranked among the 15 most charitable states, coming in at number 12.

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This news comes from a study done by Wallethub, who compared 50 states based on 19 key indicators of charitable behavior. The metrics range from volunteerism to donated income, and more. The study also revealed some very interesting facts about the United States itself.

According to the report, though the U.S. has dropped to the 19th place among most generous countries ("after years at the top of the list," Wallethub adde), it still gve more than $471 billion to charity, with 69% of those funds coming directly from individuals, according to the National Philanthropic Trust.

Additionally, the study reported that over 77 million people volunteer in the U.S., donating more than 6.9 billion hours of their time, which is the equivalent of about $167 billion of service.

Though Wyoming ranked pretty high on the list, it was determined that 'Blue states are more generous than red states.' Despite this, Utah was ranked as the most generous state (no surprise there, either), followed by Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, and North Dakota as the top 5. Our Colorado brothers and sisters ranked as the 8th most generous state.

But the fact that Wyoming has ranked as the 12th most generous state just goes to show that our people help each other. When the chips are down, when others need a hand, we're quick to offer one. We've proven this time and time again, when families lose their houses to a fire, or a young marine is taken far too soon, or a boy is attacked by a dog, or any number of other examples. We take care of our own in Wyoming, with our time, with our money and, most importantly, with our hearts. This study proves that.

Read More: Saving Sammy: One Little Boy Who Will Change the World

According to the study, Wyoming has ranked:

  • 5th – Charities per Capita
  • 4th – % of Donated Income
  • 17th – % of Population Who Donated Time
  • 23rd – Volunteer Rate
  • 23rd – Volunteer Hours per Capita

To read more about this study, the methodology used to determine the rankings, as well as to get tips on how to find the best charities to donate to, visit Wallethub.

Code Of The West: Wyoming State Code of Ethics

"The Code of the West" was declared the official state code of Wyoming, and the act was signed into law on March 3rd, 2010. Wyoming is the first state to adopt a code of ethics. The legislation chose ten ethics derived from the book "Cowboy Ethics" by James P. Owen

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