Photo: dconvertini · CC BY-SA 2.0Pacific Grove’s library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Pacific Grove Public Library serves Pacific Grove’s 14,966 residents. Last year it lent 283K books, movies and e-books and logged 62K visits.
Pacific Grove’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
21,579 cards for 14,966 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 40% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 42 items per child in Pacific Grove last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in California for borrowing
Pacific Grove ranks #8 of 117 California towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 17 items per resident, more than at 98% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 52,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.8 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
16,000 people came to the library’s 586 programs last year: 1.1 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 90% of similar-size libraries. 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 Pacific Grove’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Pacific Grove is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #37 of 448 in California. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
86 community nonprofits are registered in Pacific Grove
5.8 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 (20 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.
13.7%
13.7% of Pacific Grove’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 Pacific Grove’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
283K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 52K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.8 times last year, on average.
34,246 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Pacific Grove Public Library serves 14,966 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 134 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 7 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 Pacific Grove last year.
Find it
Pacific Grove Public Library, 550 Central Ave., Pacific Grove.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Pacific Grove? 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 $3.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pacific Grove cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 21,579 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Grove | Pacific Grove Public Library fine-free | 18.9 | 41 | A |
| Monterey | Monterey Public Library | 10.1 | 39 | A |
| Del Monte Forest | 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 Pacific Grove
Does Pacific Grove have a public library?
Yes. Pacific Grove Public Library, 550 Central Ave., serves Pacific Grove’s 14,966 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pacific Grove 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 Pacific Grove’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 18.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Pacific Grove’s civic life grade?
A Pacific Grove is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #37 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 Pacific Grove.
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.