Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0Clayton’s library lends 5.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Clayton - Town and County Public Library serves Clayton’s 4,312 residents. Last year it lent 23K books, movies and e-books and logged 5,450 visits.
What Clayton’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
Clayton - Town and County Public Library offered 14 programs last year, 3.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
31% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 51%. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Clayton - Town and County Public Library spends $6 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Clayton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Clayton is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns. Clayton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Clayton’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Clayton - Town and County Public Library spends $6 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($16K–$27K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Clayton
2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.6%
2.6% of Clayton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.8% in the typical Alabama town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Clayton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Clayton - Town and County Public Library serves 4,312 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
23K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
14 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Clayton last year.
Find it
Clayton - Town and County Public Library, 45 North Midway Street, Clayton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Clayton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $15.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clayton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $25K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $371K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 1,602 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Clayton
Does Clayton have a public library?
Yes. Clayton - Town and County Public Library, 45 North Midway Street, serves Clayton’s 4,312 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clayton - Town and County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Clayton’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Clayton’s civic life grade?
D− Clayton is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Clayton.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.