Greater income and financial well-being are associated with higher prosocial preferences and behaviors across 76 countries

Prosocial preferences and behaviors—defined as those that benefit others—are essential for health, well-being, and a society that can effectively respond to global challenges. Identifying factors that may increase or decrease them is therefore critical. Wealth, in the form of income or subjective financial well-being (FWB), may be crucial in determining prosociality. In addition, individuals’ experience of precarity (inability to meet basic needs) or country-specific factors could change how wealth correlates with prosociality, yet this impact is unknown. Here, we tested how self-reported household income (HHI) and FWB were associated with seven measures of prosociality in a global, representative sample of 80,337 people across 76 countries. We show a consistent positive association between wealth and prosociality, across both measures and for both financial and nonfinancial prosocial preferences and behaviors. HHI was positively associated with altruism, positive reciprocity, donating money, volunteering, and helping a stranger, but negatively associated with trust. FWB was positively associated with all aspects of prosociality, including trust. Individuals’ experience of precarity reduced the strength of wealth associations for prosocial preferences but increased them for prosocial behaviors. Positive associations between wealth and prosociality were found around the world and across country-level wealth and cultural factors. These findings could have important implications for enhancing prosociality, critical for a healthy and adaptive society.