Photo: Marine 69-71 · CC BY-SA 4.0Apache Junction’s library runs 44 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Apache Junction Public Library serves Apache Junction’s 41,643 residents. Last year it lent 521K books, movies and e-books and logged 229K visits.
Apache Junction’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Apache Junction Public Library ran 1,840 programs last year, about 35 a week. That’s 44 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 41,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Apache Junction uses its library more than almost any town its size
Apache Junction Public Library logs 5.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 8.5 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 32% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Top 10% in Arizona for borrowing
Apache Junction ranks #4 of 40 Arizona towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 8.5 items per resident, more than at 85% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 76,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.6 times last year, on average. 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 Apache Junction’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Apache Junction is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #35 of 68 in Arizona. Library visits hold the grade up; Apache Junction’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$76K) 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 →
74 community nonprofits are registered in Apache Junction
1.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (32 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.8%
5.8% of Apache Junction’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.0% in the typical Arizona 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 Apache Junction’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 kids’ programs a week
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 Apache Junction last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Apache Junction Public Library serves 41,643 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 165 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
521K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 76K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.6 times last year, on average.
167,450 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Apache Junction Public Library, 1177 N Idaho Rd, Apache Junction.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Apache Junction? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Apache Junction cardholder borrows.
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 33,747 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apache Junction | Apache Junction Public Library fine-free | 12.5 | 58 | C |
| Mesa | Mesa Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 58 | D |
| Queen Creek | Queen Creek Branch Library fine-free | — | 60 | C |
| Gold Canyon | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 Apache Junction
Does Apache Junction have a public library?
Yes. Apache Junction Public Library, 1177 N Idaho Rd, serves Apache Junction’s 41,643 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Apache Junction 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 Apache Junction’s library?
It logged 5.5 visits and lent 12.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Apache Junction’s civic life grade?
C Apache Junction is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #35 of 68 in Arizona. 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 Apache Junction.
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.