Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Chowchilla’s library is a branch of Madera County Library, which lends less per resident than 91% of systems its size
Chowchilla’s library is the Chowchilla Branch Library, a branch of Madera County Library, which serves 159,328 people and lent 189K items last year.
Chowchilla’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 88% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 9%. The building also logs about 19 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Madera County Library system offered 660 programs last year, 4.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Madera County Library system spends $14 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 660 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Chowchilla’s library is a branch of Madera County Library, so they cover the whole system (159,328 people), not just the Chowchilla branch.
What’s behind Chowchilla’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chowchilla is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns, #377 of 448 in California. Chowchilla is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Chowchilla’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Madera County Library spends $14 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) 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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Chowchilla
1.6 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 (14 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.
3.9%
3.9% of Chowchilla’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.9% in the typical California 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 Chowchilla’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Madera County Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Madera County Library serves 159,328 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
189K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
15,215 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 8 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.
Find it
Chowchilla Branch Library, 300 Kings Ave., Chowchilla.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Madera County Library branch.
New in Chowchilla? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chowchilla cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 19,232 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chowchilla | Chowchilla Branch Library | — | 26 | D− |
| Fairmead | 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.
- System-wide. Chowchilla Branch Library is one branch of Madera County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 159,328 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 Chowchilla
Does Chowchilla have a public library?
Yes: Chowchilla Branch Library, 300 Kings Ave., is a branch of Madera County Library, which serves 159,328 people. The branch is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Madera County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Chowchilla’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 1.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Chowchilla’s civic life grade?
D− Chowchilla is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns on civic life, #377 of 448 in California. 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 Chowchilla.
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.