Avondale’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Avondale Public Library serves Avondale’s 96,803 residents from 2 locations. Last year it logged 132K visits.
What stands out about Avondale’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Avondale’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Avondale is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns, #62 of 68 in Arizona. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #362. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($65K–$108K) 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 →
135 community nonprofits are registered in Avondale
1.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (60 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.9%
2.9% of Avondale’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 Avondale’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 3 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Avondale Public Library serves 96,803 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
A year at Civic Center Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: print loans, books & media on the shelves, library cards, spending, funding and staff. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
About 12 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.
2 places to borrow in Avondale
Civic Center Library, 11350 W Civic Ctr Dr, Avondale.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Avondale? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Avondale
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Avondale resident borrows (the library didn’t report its card count for 2024).
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 resident’s month = the library’s yearly loans and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ the 96,803 people it serves ÷ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tolleson | Tolleson Public Library fine-free | 9.2 | 51 | C− |
| Phoenix | Burton Barr Central Library fine-free | 5.9 | 58 | D |
| Avondale | Civic Center Library fine-free | — | 38 | D− |
| Goodyear | Goodyear Branch Library fine-free | — | 64 | D |
| Litchfield Park | Litchfield Park Branch Library fine-free | — | 51 | C |
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: print loans, books & media on the shelves, library cards, spending, funding and staff. 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 Avondale
Does Avondale have a public library?
Yes. Avondale Public Library, 11350 W Civic Ctr Dr, serves Avondale’s 96,803 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Avondale Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Avondale’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Avondale’s civic life grade?
D− Avondale is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns on civic life, #62 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 Avondale.
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.