43% admit having given money to panhandlers

August 17, 2011, 7:46 PM GMT+0

A new YouGov survey reveals that 43% of respondents have given money to panhandlers, but the percentage that do so frequently is far lower.

When asked if they had ever given money in a public place, respondents said the following:

  • 43% had given to panhandlers or beggars
  • 33% had given to musicians or buskers
  • 60% had given to workers for a charity or non-profit collecting donations
  • 27% had given to none of these

Adults 35-54 year old were the age group most likely to have given to one of the groups, while Democrats were more likely to have given to panhandlers than Republicans, 49% of Democrats saying they had given versus 30% of Republicans.

Among those who had given money to panhandlers, 68% said they gave money “rarely”, while another 25% said they do so somewhat often. When asked how much they typically gave, 22% said “loose change”, while 48% said “around a dollar” and 26% said “several dollars.”

Those who gave money to musicians did so slightly more frequently than those who gave to panhandlers. 59% admitted to giving rarely, while 31% said they do it somewhat often. 25% said they typically gave loose change, while 44% said they gave around a dollar and 24% said the usual amount was several dollars.

Respondents said that charity workers were the group they were most likely to give money to. 49% of respondents said they gave money somewhat often versus 42% who said they gave money rarely. The amount respondents usually gave did not vary much from the other groups: 23% said loose change, 49% said around a dollar and 23% said several dollars.

For each of the groups—panhandlers, musicians and charity workers—the percentage of people who said they gave “very often” or “every time I pass one” was about the same, averaging at around 6% for the first response and 3% for the second. Similarly, the amount of respondents who said they typically gave “more than five dollars” was about the same for each of the three groups, ranging from 4% to 6%.

Image Source: Press Association