Photo: Dicklyon · CC BY-SA 4.0Pacifica’s library is a branch of San Mateo County Libraries, which lends more per resident than 92% of systems its size
Pacifica’s library is the Pacifica Library, a branch of San Mateo County Libraries, which serves 273,370 people and lent 3.4M items last year.
Pacifica’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
The San Mateo County Libraries system logs 6.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 8.8 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The San Mateo County Libraries system ran 8,351 programs last year, about 161 a week. That’s 31 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 256,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 59% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The San Mateo County Libraries system spends $160 per resident a year, about four times the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% of all loans. 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; Pacifica’s library is a branch of San Mateo County Libraries, so they cover the whole system (273,370 people), not just the Pacifica branch.
What’s behind Pacifica’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pacifica is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #154 of 448 in California. Pacifica is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Pacifica’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
117 community nonprofits are registered in Pacifica
3.1 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 (23 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.5%
8.5% of Pacifica’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 Pacifica’s residents live; 2022.
About 76 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
San Mateo County Libraries serves 273,370 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 93 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole San Mateo County Libraries system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
3.4M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,011,033 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Pacifica
Pacifica Library, 104 Hilton Way, Pacifica.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every San Mateo County Libraries branch.
New in Pacifica? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other San Mateo County Libraries branches in Pacifica
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 Pacifica cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $44M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $71M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $44M 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 116,102 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Bruno | San Bruno Public Library fine-free | 8.9 | 52 | D |
| South San Francisco | South San Francisco Main Library fine-free | 6.9 | 51 | C− |
| Daly City | Serramonte Main Library fine-free | 4.3 | 46 | D |
| Pacifica | Pacifica Library fine-free | — | 57 | B− |
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.
- System-wide. Pacifica Library is one branch of San Mateo County Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 273,370 people it serves.
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 Pacifica
Does Pacifica have a public library?
Yes: Pacifica Library, 104 Hilton Way, is a branch of San Mateo County Libraries, which serves 273,370 people. The branch is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is San Mateo County Libraries 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 Pacifica’s library?
It logged 6.2 visits and lent 12.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Pacifica’s civic life grade?
B− Pacifica is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #154 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 Pacifica.
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.