Value of Volunteer Time Jumps to $36.14 per Hour, Do Good Institute and Nonprofit Find

The value of a volunteer hour  rose to  $36.14 in 2025, up 3.9% in a year, Independent Sector and the Do Good Institute at University of Maryland announced on Tuesday.

Charitable organizations most frequently use the Value of Volunteer Time to recognize the amount of community support an organization receives from its volunteers. Corporations also use the figure to calculate the value of staff volunteer efforts in communities around the country. 

In addition to the national number, Independent Sector also provides the state-level value of volunteer time for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. This year’s data shows that the value of volunteer time increased in every state and territory measured. Values range from $17.99 per hour for Puerto Rico to $54.77 for D.C. Georgia experienced the highest rate of growth, with the value of a volunteer hour rising 7.9% (from $32.63 to $35.22) over the previous year.  

Nathan Dietz, research director at the Do Good Institute, said that again, the increase is not just due to inflation (2.7% in 2025).

“This variation is due to differences in the cost of living, not in the actual value that volunteers bring to American communities,” he said. “Throughout the country, volunteers are working together, and with local organizations, to help their neighbors.” 

The state and national estimates of the value of volunteer time are calculated based on the annual average hourly earnings (non-seasonally adjusted) for all production and non-supervisory workers on private non-farm payrolls. These annual earnings estimates come from the Current Employment Statistics database, which is available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not released final data at either the state or national level. However, the bureau released preliminary wage data for 2025, which is used to determine the current Value of Volunteer Time. Historical differences between the preliminary and final estimates published by CES in prior years indicate final estimates are unlikely to be dramatically different from preliminary data.  

 Independent Sector President and CEO Akilah Watkins said that the work of volunteers is especially important to America’s 1.9 million nonprofits. According to 2025 research from the Urban Institute, three in four (75%) nonprofit organizations say that volunteers are important to their operations, with nearly a quarter (23%) entirely dependent on volunteers. 

“Whether you’ve donated an afternoon or volunteer every day, we in the charitable sector owe you a debt of gratitude,” she said.