Photo: Gary gary gary at en.wikipedia · CC BY 3.0Hillsborough has no public library of its own; the nearest is Burlingame Main Library in Burlingame, 1.6 miles away
Hillsborough doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Burlingame Main Library in Burlingame, 1.6 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
DCivic lifeAhead of 10% of U.S. towns · #290 of 448 in California. Nonprofits and volunteering.Libraries for Hillsborough, in brief
Hillsborough borrows from the libraries next door
Hillsborough has no public library of its own, but four libraries are within 10 miles, the closest being Burlingame Main Library in Burlingame (1.6 miles). Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓
Hillsborough isn’t the only town nearby without one
Baywood Park and Highlands don’t have a public library of their own either. Among the towns next door, Burlingame (Burlingame Main Library) and San Mateo (San Mateo Public Library) do. Libraries next door ↓
The nearby libraries are all fine-free
None of the four closest libraries charges late fines. Nearest libraries ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Hillsborough’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hillsborough is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #290 of 448 in California. Hillsborough 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.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($188K–$313K) 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Hillsborough
0.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.6%
6.6% of Hillsborough’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 Hillsborough’s residents live; 2022.
The closest is 1.6 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Hillsborough. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlingame | Burlingame Main Library fine-free | 17.0 | 59 | A− |
| San Mateo | San Mateo Public Library fine-free | 9.8 | 60 | C |
| Baywood Park | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Highlands | 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.
- 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 Hillsborough
Does Hillsborough have a public library?
No. The closest is Burlingame Main Library in Burlingame, 1.6 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Hillsborough’s civic life grade?
D Hillsborough is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #290 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 Hillsborough.
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.