by Katy Snyder, JVA Consulting

Although Utah had the largest percentage of residents who volunteered in 2009 (a whopping 44.2%), the Midwest emerged as the region with the most states with high rates of volunteerism according to a recently released national report from The Corporation for National & Community Service. Of the top ten states, five were in the Midwest, with Minneapolis taking the title of best large city for volunteering.

The West came out somewhere in the middle of the states, with Montana’s number nine ranking a notable exception. Colorado, with a volunteer rate of 32.4%, was ranked16^th, well above the national average of 26.5%. In terms of hours per volunteer contributed, Colorado ranked quite a bit higher, at number eight, and Fort Collins also made it into the top five mid-sized cities for volunteering. Volunteers in Colorado donated 44 hours per person on average, with the majority of that time dedicated to educational, religious and social service causes, respectively. Click here to view an interactive profile of volunteerism in Colorado.

Coming in last were many of the southern states—the bottom 10 states were made up of five states from the South.

Overall, however, Americans have become more charitable in the last year, with an additional 1.6 million volunteering in 2009 when compared to 2008.