Salton City’s library is a branch of Imperial County Library, which lends less per resident than 82% of systems its size
Salton City’s library is the Salton City Library, a branch of Imperial County Library, which serves 48,181 people and lent 68K items last year.
Salton City’s library, in brief
The Imperial County Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Imperial County Library system records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
89% of the 470 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Salton City branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
California pays a big share
25% of the budget comes from the state, and 51% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Imperial County Library system spends $13 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
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; Salton City’s library is a branch of Imperial County Library, so they cover the whole system (48,181 people), not just the Salton City branch.
What’s behind Salton City’s civic life grade
Salton City isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary), its library is a branch of Imperial County Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Imperial County Library serves 48,181 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Imperial County Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. 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
68K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,456 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 8 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.
Find it
Salton City Library, 1209 Van Buren Road, Salton City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Imperial County Library branch.
New in Salton City? 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 $1.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Salton City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $644K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $644K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 16,588 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Salton City Library is one branch of Imperial County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 48,181 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 Salton City
Does Salton City have a public library?
Yes: Salton City Library, 1209 Van Buren Road, is a branch of Imperial County Library, which serves 48,181 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Imperial County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Salton City’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Salton City’s civic life grade?
Salton City isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary), its library is a branch of Imperial County Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Salton 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.