Photo: Jordan W. · CC BY-SA 3.0Rancho Cucamonga’s library runs 2.2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Rancho Cucamonga Public Library serves Rancho Cucamonga’s 173,316 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 675K books, movies and e-books and logged 267K visits.
The short version on Rancho Cucamonga’s library
More library cards than residents
336,408 cards for 173,316 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Rancho Cucamonga Public Library offered 387 programs last year, 2.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 387 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 67% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 63% 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 Rancho Cucamonga’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Rancho Cucamonga is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns, #307 of 448 in California. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #303. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Rancho Cucamonga’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($84K–$140K) 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 →
456 community nonprofits are registered in Rancho Cucamonga
2.6 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 (171 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 47 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.8%
4.8% of Rancho Cucamonga’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 Rancho Cucamonga’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Rancho Cucamonga Public Library serves 173,316 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 160 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
675K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 275K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
104,282 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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 Rancho Cucamonga last year.
3 places to borrow in Rancho Cucamonga
Paul A. Biane Library, 12505 Cultural Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Rancho Cucamonga? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Rancho Cucamonga
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rancho Cucamonga cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $9.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.1M 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 336,408 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Rancho Cucamonga borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rancho Cucamonga | Paul A. Biane Library fine-free | 3.9 | 44 | D |
| Upland | Ovitt Family Community Library | 2.5 | 64 | D |
| Ontario | Ovitt Family Community Library | 2.5 | 64 | D− |
| Fontana | Fontana Lewis Library and Technology Center | — | 48 | D− |
| San Antonio Heights | 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 Rancho Cucamonga
Does Rancho Cucamonga have a public library?
Yes. Rancho Cucamonga Public Library, 12505 Cultural Center Drive, serves Rancho Cucamonga’s 173,316 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rancho Cucamonga 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 Rancho Cucamonga’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Rancho Cucamonga’s civic life grade?
D Rancho Cucamonga is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on civic life, #307 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 Rancho Cucamonga.
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.