The volunteer rate for men was little changed at 21.8 percent for the year ending in September 2015. The rate for women was 27.8 percent, down from 28.3 percent in the previous year. Across all age groups, educational levels, and other major demographic characteristics, women continued to volunteer at a higher rate than men. (See tables A and 1.)

By age, 35- to 44-year-olds and 45- to 54-year-olds were the most likely to volunteer (28.9 percent and 28.0 percent, respectively). Volunteer rates were lowest among 20- to 24-year-olds (18.4 percent). Teenagers (16- to 19-year-olds) continued to have a relatively high volunteer rate, at 26.4 percent. Over the year, the volunteer rates for 35- to 44-year-olds and 55- to 64-year-olds declined.

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, Whites continued to volunteer at a higher rate (26.4 percent) than Blacks (19.3 percent), Asians (17.9 percent), and Hispanics (15.5 percent). In 2015, the volunteer rate showed little or no change for all of the major race and ethnicity groups.

Married persons volunteered at a higher rate (29.9 percent) in 2015 than those who had never married (19.9 percent) and those with other marital statuses (20.2 percent). Over the year, the rate declined for those with other marital statuses by 0.9 percentage point. In 2015, parents with children under age 18 were again more likely to volunteer than persons without children, 31.3 percent versus 22.6 percent. The volunteer rate of persons without children under age 18 declined over the year, while the rate for parents with children under age 18 was little different from a year earlier.

Individuals with higher levels of education were more likely to volunteer than were those with less education. Among persons age 25 and over, 38.8 percent of college graduates with a bachelor's degree and higher volunteered, compared with 26.5 percent of persons with some college or an associate's degree, 15.6 percent of high school graduates, and 8.1 percent of those with less than a high school diploma. The rate of volunteering declined for persons across all levels of educational attainment in 2015.

Source