BOSTON – Southerners still take the prize when it comes to charity, though a few Yankee states are making progress shedding their stingy reputations.

Relatively poor Bible Belt states, headed by Mississippi, retained their lead in the latest “Generosity Index,” a survey measuring the disparity between what residents of each state earn and what they give away.

Mississippi has finished first in five of the six annual surveys. In the latest, the Magnolia State once again has the greatest disparity between its ranking among the states in wealth – 49th – and its ranking in donations: 6th.

Following Mississippi are Arkansas, South Dakota, Tennessee and Louisiana, according to the Catalogue for Philanthropy, a Massachusetts group that encourages giving and which created the study.

Maine ranked 32nd on the national charity scale, winding up No. 36 in terms of wealth but 49th in donations. Still, Maine was the second most generous New England state after Vermont (30).

The “Generosity Index” has consistently ranked highest in Southern and Midwestern states, where tithing – giving a 10th of your income to the church – is relatively common. New England and other northeastern states have generally ranked lowest.

“Mississippians recognize that caring for others is a way of caring for the community at large, and the depth of that caring is amazing,” said Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove. “The Generosity Index is further evidence that our caring begins in the heart and moves to the wallet.”

The survey doesn’t reflect the recent economic downturn because it relied on IRS tax returns from 2000, the most recent year available.

New Hampshire, the sixth wealthiest state per capita but only 45th in charitable contributions, came in dead last, one spot behind Rhode Island. New Jersey and Wisconsin were 48th and 47th, respectively.

Still, there were signs that the prosperity of the 1990s, and perhaps the shame of low rankings in previous surveys, affected some New England residents. Connecticut showed the biggest gain of any state, rising 10 spots from 44th to 34th.

And Massachusetts, which finished last in previous surveys, rose from 48th to 44th. Charitable giving in the state over the late 1990s rose considerably faster than income, more than doubling to $3.97 billion.

“The economy was good everywhere, but Massachusetts’ growth in giving outstrips by far every other state,” said George McCully, the group’s coordinator trustee.

The survey compares each state’s average adjusted gross income with its average itemized charitable deduction.

But because those numbers don’t quite line up – only about one in four taxpayers itemize, although those taxpayers account for 80 percent of charitable giving – the index compares the states’ relative rankings in those categories. Mississippi’s score is plus 43 because that’s the difference between its “having” and “giving” rankings – 49th and sixth.

The authors acknowledge the survey, which is actually compiled by the National Center for Charitable Statistics, is imperfect (it doesn’t account for volunteering) and that economists dislike it. But they say it offers a good snapshot of regional variations and believe it “shames” poorly performing states into action.

In Connecticut, for instance, the average itemized filer reported $3,740 in donations in 2000, up from $3,321 the year before. Still, that was only a slightly greater percentage increase than income, which rose from $64,900 to $70,428, the highest in the nation.

Colorado fell the furthest, though only back in line with previous rankings. After finishing 41st in 1997 and 42nd in 1998, it jumped to 28th in 1999 but fell back to 41st in 2000. Nevada fell 11 spots to 40th and Michigan 10 spots to 45th.