Maryland's Howard County, an affluent suburb between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, boasts the state's highest median income, yet ranks in the bottom half of counties in the state for giving, the Washington Post reports.

For the past sixteen years, according to state and federal data, Howard has had the state's top median household income, and, with household incomes averaging $88,555, currently ranks second in the nation. But according to a national survey by the also Chronicle of Philanthropy, its per-capita charitable giving lags nearly all Washington-Baltimore jurisdictions, and is tied for fifteenth among twenty-three counties in the state.

According to Lynne Nemeth, a consultant who has studied local giving habits, some aspects of life in Howard dampen giving. For instance, the county has the state's highest rate of migration, with the equivalent of half the population moving in or out between 1995 and 2000. The pricey housing market in the county also means that nearly a quarter of its homeowners spend more than 30 percent of their income on a mortgage. But that doesn't change the fact that the county, more than other jurisdictions, relies on nonprofit groups to provide basic social services such as homeless shelters, indigent medical care, and immigrant services.

"We need to create a pipeline of people and their children who are getting involved in community life and create the next generation of board members and community activists and philanthropists," said Nemeth.

Ann Towne, executive director of an association that serves community-based groups in the country, agrees, although she also believes it's a matter of getting the word out. "[T]here's a lot of people in Howard County who have the potential but haven't been asked," said Towne.