The age-old rivalry between northern and southern California has its ups and downs, but there have always been some bedrock certainties. To wit: L.A. may have star power and better weather, but the Bay Area cares.

As it turns out, we might not care as much as we think we do. According to a recent study by San Francisco’s NewTithing Group, a nonprofit that tracks philanthropic trends, people in the Bay Area who earn at least $200,000 a year give only half as much to charity (about one-half of 1 percent of their investment assets) as those down south. There are plenty of excuses. Most of our tech millionaires, for instance, are recently minted, compared to L.A.’s old-money, horsey-set donors, so perhaps they haven’t fully developed their sense of noblesse oblige. But still: half. NewTithing’s executive director, Tim Stone, puts a diplomatic spin on it. Our disappointing numbers, he says, “point to great giving potential.” (One consolation: our foundation giving beats the tar out of L.A.’s. Tadow!)

There isn’t much to be smug about, though: on a national level, the Golden State is positively stingy. As another study reveals, flyover states such as Utah hit the top 10 in individual giving; California, meanwhile, staggered in at 22nd. Most charity is religion-based, and California isn’t known for its piety. Maybe Rush Limbaugh is right, and all those latte-sipping, limousine liberals are dragging us down. Regardless, it seems most of us could afford to give a little more—if not till it hurts, then at least till it smarts.