AmeriCorps: Miami is the least neighborly city in the U.S.

The city of Miami was ranked as the least neighborly city in the United States, according to a new survey sponsored by AmericaCorps, a U.S. government agency whose mission is to provide volunteer services throughout the nation. 

Miami came in last in the ranking of the “informal helping” category, with only 35.5% of residents helping those in need nearby. According to AmeriCorps, informal helping is defined as the act of “assisting others outside of an organizational context, including during favors for neighbors.”

The actions of informal help include assisting someone across the street, holding a door open, giving directions, feeding neighbors’ pets, and lending a cup of sugar, among others. 

Additionally, only 14% of residents formally volunteered through organizations, making it the second to last city providing this kind of help in the ranking. Activities considered within formal volunteering include supporting food banks, feeding the homeless, raising money for charity, or tutoring students, among others. 

The new survey used data related to informal and formal volunteering from AmeriCorps and the U.S. Census Bureau in the country’s 12 largest metropolitan areas from September 2020 to 2021, while most of the country was still enduring the COVID-19 lockdown.

Miami also ranked near the bottom in four other categories of civic engagement, including “Doing Favors For Your Neighbors,” “Membership in an Organization,” and “Donating to a Charity or Group.” 

The cities with the nicest neighbors, according to the survey, were Boston in first place with 57.9% of residents helping out, followed by Philadelphia in second with 57.8% of residents lending a hand, and Chicago in third with 54.6% of residents displaying neighborly behavior. 

In general, the study also found "​​23.2% of Americans, or 60.7 million people, formally volunteered with organizations between September 2020 and 2021."

AmeriCorps has several different programs. Its initial program, AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) was founded in 1965 shortly after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as part of President Lyndon Johnson's vision to build a Great Society.