Mission de la Purisima Concepcion de Maria Santisima Site · Photo: Jsweida · CC BY-SA 3.0Lompoc’s library runs 4.3 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Lompoc Public Library serves Lompoc’s 59,575 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 231K books, movies and e-books and logged 106K visits.
The short version on Lompoc’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Lompoc Public Library offered 255 programs last year, 4.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
65% of the 255 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.6 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.
What’s behind Lompoc’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lompoc is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #225 of 448 in California. Lompoc is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Lompoc’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($54K–$90K) 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 →
146 community nonprofits are registered in Lompoc
3.4 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 (54 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.
5.7%
5.7% of Lompoc’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 Lompoc’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.
Lompoc Public Library serves 59,575 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 50 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
231K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 53K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3 times last year, on average.
72,047 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Lompoc last year.
2 places to borrow in Lompoc
Lompoc Public Library, 501 E. North Ave., Lompoc.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lompoc? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Lompoc
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.62 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lompoc cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 12,785 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lompoc | Lompoc Public Library fine-free | 3.9 | 44 | C− |
| Mission Hills | 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 Lompoc
Does Lompoc have a public library?
Yes. Lompoc Public Library, 501 E. North Ave., serves Lompoc’s 59,575 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lompoc Public Library 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 Lompoc’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Lompoc’s civic life grade?
C− Lompoc is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on civic life, #225 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 Lompoc.
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.