Photo: Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 3.0Surprise’s library is a branch of Maricopa County Library District Office, which lends less per resident than 95% of systems its size
Surprise’s library is the Northwest Regional Library, a branch of Maricopa County Library District Office, which serves 4,726,247 people and lent 5.9M items last year.
The short version on Surprise’s library
The Maricopa County Library District Office system is used less than most libraries its size
The Maricopa County Library District Office system records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $8 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Maricopa County Library District Office system offered 4,407 programs last year, 0.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Maricopa County Library District Office system spends $8 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). What your card is worth ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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; Surprise’s library is a branch of Maricopa County Library District Office, so they cover the whole system (4,726,247 people), not just the Surprise branch.
What’s behind Surprise’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Surprise is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns, #57 of 68 in Arizona. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #325. Surprise is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Maricopa County Library District Office spends $8 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($73K–$121K) 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 →
284 community nonprofits are registered in Surprise
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 (90 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 16 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.2%
5.2% of Surprise’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 Surprise’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Maricopa County Library District Office serves 4,726,247 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at Maricopa County Library District Office
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Maricopa County Library District Office system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
41% of borrowing is digital
5.9M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Surprise’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
2,447,586 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 47 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
3 places to borrow in Surprise
Northwest Regional Library, 16089 N Bullard Ave, Surprise.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Maricopa County Library District Office branch.
New in Surprise? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Maricopa County Library District Office branches in Surprise
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.72 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Surprise cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $36M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $97M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $36M 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 144,452 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peoria | Peoria Public Library System fine-free | 5.1 | 50 | D |
| Glendale | Glendale Main Library fine-free | 4.9 | 48 | D |
| Buckeye | Buckeye Public Library - Coyote Branch fine-free | 2.0 | 48 | D− |
| Surprise | Northwest Regional Library fine-free | — | — | D |
| Sun City | Sun City Branch Library fine-free | — | 50 | — unincorporated |
| El Mirage | El Mirage Branch Library fine-free | — | 50 | D− |
| Sun City West | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Wittmann | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Northwest Regional Library is one branch of Maricopa County Library District Office, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 4,726,247 people it serves.
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 Surprise
Does Surprise have a public library?
Yes: Northwest Regional Library, 16089 N Bullard Ave, is a branch of Maricopa County Library District Office, which serves 4,726,247 people.
Is Maricopa County Library District Office 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 Surprise’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Surprise’s civic life grade?
D Surprise is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns on civic life, #57 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 Surprise.
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.