Photo: Der-wuppertaler · CC BY-SA 3.0National City’s library runs 6.5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
National City Public Library serves National City’s 58,555 residents. Last year it lent 105K books, movies and e-books and logged 118K visits.
The short version on National City’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, National City Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
National City Public Library holds 212,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 5% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 97% 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 National City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, National City is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #361 of 448 in California. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$84K) 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 →
85 community nonprofits are registered in National City
1.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (44 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 20 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.6%
2.6% of National City’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 National City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
National City Public Library serves 58,555 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
105K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 212K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
4,765 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 National City last year.
Find it
National City Public Library, 1401 National City Blvd., National City.
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 National City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average National City resident borrows (the library didn’t report its card count for 2024).
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.6M 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 resident’s month = the library’s yearly loans and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ the 58,555 people it serves ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
National City ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego | San Diego Central Library fine-free | 4.4 | 50 | C+ |
| National City | National City Public Library fine-free | 1.8 | 52 | D− |
| Chula Vista | Civic Center Branch fine-free | 1.6 | — | D− |
| Bonita | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 National City
Does National City have a public library?
Yes. National City Public Library, 1401 National City Blvd., serves National City’s 58,555 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is National City 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 National City’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is National City’s civic life grade?
D− National City is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #361 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 National City.
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.