New List Reveals Top States, Cities that Produce AmeriCorps Members

Washington, D.C., Minnesota, and West Virginia among #AmeriStates with top bragging rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In celebration of the nearly 1 million Americans who have taken the pledge to “get things done,” as AmeriCorps members, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that administers the AmeriCorps program, released the rankings of the states and cities that generate the most AmeriCorps members per capita for the second year in a row.

Washington, D.C., Minnesota, and West Virginia take the top three spots in the states category. Minneapolis-St. Paul, New Orleans, and Baltimore claim the highest slots in the large-cities listing, with Providence, R.I., Lowell, Mass., and Madison, Wisc. ranking highest among mid-size cities.

“Over the last two decades, nearly 1 million AmeriCorps members have been an indispensable resource for communities around the country,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps. “AmeriCorps members improve the lives of millions of citizens and make a powerful and lasting impact on the toughest challenges facing our nation. I salute every AmeriCorps member for his or her dedication and determination to ‘get things done’ for America, and congratulate all of this year’s top AmeriStates and AmeriCities.”

Since 1994, more than 980,000 Americans have provided more than 1.3 billion hours of service, and earned more than $3.1 billion in education awards to pay for college. In October, the nation will celebrate a milestone when the one-millionth AmeriCorps member will take the AmeriCorps pledge, committing to “get things done” for America.

The rankings were determined by associating the permanent address of AmeriCorps members’ with a U.S. designated place and state, including the District of Columbia. The analysis looked exclusively at members who served in the 2014-2015 program year. For this analysis, a mid-sized city was defined as any place with a population greater than or equal to 100,000 people and less than 250,000 people. A large-sized city was defined as any place with a population greater than or equal to 250,000.  The listed states and cities produce the highest number of AmeriCorps members per capita.

AmeriCorps engages more than 75,000 members in intensive service annually to serve through nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations at 21,000 locations across the country. These members have tackled some of the most pressing challenges facing America: educating millions of students for jobs of the 21st century; supporting individuals, families, and neighborhoods on the road to economic recovery; supporting veterans and military families; helping communities rebuild after natural disasters; improving at-risk ecosystems; and providing healthy futures.

Below are the nation’s top 10 AmeriCorps member-producing states and cities for 2016:

States

1. District of Columbia
2. Minnesota
3. West Virginia
4. Vermont
5. Utah
6. Rhode Island
7. New Mexico
8. Hawaii
9. Massachusetts
10. Maryland

Large Cities

1. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
2. New Orleans, Louisiana
3. Baltimore, Maryland
4. Boston, Massachusetts
5. Buffalo, New York
6. Newark, New Jersey
7. Oakland, California
8. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
9. Detroit, Michigan
10. Portland, Oregon

Mid-Size Cities

1. Providence, Rhode Island
2. Lowell, Massachusetts
3. Madison, Wisconsin
4. Berkeley, California
5. Provo, Utah
6. Rockford, Illinois
7. Des Moines, Iowa
8. Rochester, Minnesota
9. New Haven, Connecticut 

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The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages millions of Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the President’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.