Photo: Cygnusloop99 · CC BY-SA 3.0Mesa’s library runs 3.3 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Mesa Public Library serves Mesa’s 524,892 residents from 4 locations. Last year it lent 2.6M books, movies and e-books and logged 649K visits.
Mesa’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
Mesa’s library lends 4.9 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Apache Junction at 13. Libraries next door ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Mesa Public Library offered 1,755 programs last year, 3.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Four places to borrow in Mesa
Mesa Public Library runs four locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 Mesa’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Mesa is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns, #59 of 68 in Arizona. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #333. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Mesa’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Mesa Public Library spends $17 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($62K–$103K) 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 →
1,048 community nonprofits are registered in Mesa
2.1 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 (315 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 53 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.1%
5.1% of Mesa’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 Mesa’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Mesa Public Library serves 524,892 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at Mesa Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2.6M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 457K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.5 times last year, on average.
956,331 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 19 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 Mesa last year.
4 places to borrow in Mesa
Mesa Public Library, 64 E 1st St., Mesa.
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 Mesa? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Mesa
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mesa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $38M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.8M 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 105,999 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Mesa ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. 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 |
| Chandler | Downtown Library fine-free | 6.1 | 58 | C− |
| Tempe | Tempe Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 60 | C− |
| Mesa | Mesa Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 58 | D |
| Gilbert | Southeast Regional Library fine-free | — | 62 | D |
| Queen Creek | Queen Creek Branch Library fine-free | — | 60 | 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.
- 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 Mesa
Does Mesa have a public library?
Yes. Mesa Public Library, 64 E 1st St., serves Mesa’s 524,892 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mesa 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 Mesa’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 4.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Mesa’s civic life grade?
D Mesa is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns on civic life, #59 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 Mesa.
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.