US Post Office-El Centro Main · Photo: Cbl62 · CC BY-SA 3.0El Centro’s library logs 1.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
El Centro Public Library serves El Centro’s 44,952 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 39K books, movies and e-books and logged 66K visits.
El Centro’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
89% of the 274 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
El Centro Public Library offered 274 programs last year, 6.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. 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.
What’s behind El Centro’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, El Centro is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns, #352 of 448 in California. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; El Centro’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
El Centro Public Library spends $17 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($40K–$66K) 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 →
103 community nonprofits are registered in El Centro
2.3 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 (49 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.1%
3.1% of El Centro’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 El Centro’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
El Centro Public Library serves 44,952 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
39K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 41K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 El Centro last year.
3 places to borrow in El Centro
El Centro Public Library, 1198 N. Imperial Ave., El Centro.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in El Centro? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in El Centro
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average El Centro cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $751K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $638K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $751K 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 19,061 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Centro | El Centro Public Library | 0.9 | 48 | D− |
| Imperial | Imperial Public Library fine-free | 0.8 | 40 | D− |
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 El Centro
Does El Centro have a public library?
Yes. El Centro Public Library, 1198 N. Imperial Ave., serves El Centro’s 44,952 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is El Centro Public 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 El Centro’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is El Centro’s civic life grade?
D− El Centro is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns on civic life, #352 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 El Centro.
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.