Photo: Cbl62 · CC BY-SA 3.0Yuma’s library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Yuma County Library District serves 217,978 people in and around Yuma from 2 locations. Last year it lent 432K books, movies and e-books and logged 442K visits.
What Yuma’s library is like
Open about 64 hours a week
The Yuma branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 63% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 85% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
45% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 45% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Yuma County Library District lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, fewer than 91% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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; Yuma County Library District serves 217,978 people in and around Yuma, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Yuma’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Yuma is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns, #52 of 68 in Arizona. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #297. Yuma is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Yuma’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$82K) 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 →
278 community nonprofits are registered in Yuma
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (82 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.1%
4.1% of Yuma’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 Yuma’s residents live; 2022.
45% of borrowing is digital
432K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
195,641 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Yuma County Library District serves 217,978 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Yuma County Library District system. The library’s own count.
About 15 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.
2 places to borrow in Yuma
Yuma County Library District, 2951 S 21st Dr, Yuma.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Yuma County Library District branch.
New in Yuma? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Yuma County Library District branches in Yuma
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Yuma cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.7M 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 60,918 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuma | Yuma County Library District fine-free | — | 64 | D |
| Fortuna Foothills | Foothills Branch Library fine-free | — | 48 | — unincorporated |
| Avenue B and C | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Donovan Estates | 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.
- System-wide. Yuma County Library District serves 217,978 people in and around Yuma, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Yuma.
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 Yuma
Does Yuma have a public library?
Yes. Yuma County Library District, 2951 S 21st Dr, serves 217,978 people in and around Yuma (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Yuma County Library District 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 Yuma’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Yuma’s civic life grade?
D Yuma is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on civic life, #52 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 Yuma.
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.