12 Most Caring U.S. Cities

In a recent report, the personal finance website WalletHub compared the largest U.S. cities across multiple indicators of a compassionate spirit. The dataset ranges from the share of sheltered homeless persons to volunteering hours per capita to the share of income donated to charity. "Being a caring city requires a partnership between the city's government and its residents," WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe said in a statement. "The government can implement high-level measures like sheltering the homeless, reducing crime and protecting workers." But at least as important, Happe said, is the care that residents show for their neighbors by donating time and money, being environmentally friendly and taking jobs that help others In order to determine the most caring cities in America, WalletHub compared the 100 most populated ones across three key dimensions:

• Caring for the community, including violent crime rate, care for the environment and favors for neighbors
• Caring for the vulnerable, including child and adult poverty rates, share of sheltered homeless persons and employers' disability friendliness
• Caring in the workforce, including residents who work in community and social services per capita, physicians and nurses per capita and childcare workers per total number of children

Researchers evaluated those dimensions using 38 relevant metrics, and graded each one on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the highest level of caring. They then determined each city's weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score. See the accompanying gallery for the 12 most caring cities in America, according to WalletHub.