Guest, Sign inJoin
6Hamilton Waterfront Hamilton BayPhoto: Laslovarga · CC BY-SA 3.0
Libraries · Hamilton

Hamilton has 30 public library branches

Hamilton Public Library counts 592,000 people in its service area. Loans ran to 4.1 items per person served in 2024. The yearly visit count is an estimate: Ontario libraries count a typical week, then multiply by 52.

–Civic lifeNot graded
DirectionsLibrary websiteAll its libraries
Visits a year
2,735,720
4.6 per person served
Borrowed a year
2,435,516
4.1 per person served
Cardholders
31%
185,395 cards
Libraries
30
Charities
891
1.4 per 1,000 residents
Civic life grade

The three inputs behind a civic life grade for Hamilton

Not graded: a city is graded through its neighbourhoods, each on its own figures.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Hamilton’s overall grade.
–Library visits4.6 per resident · Ontario towns 4.5–Charities1.4 per 1,000 · Ontario towns 1.4 · Canada 1.4–Volunteering32.1% of residents · all of Ontario, 2023

Informal groups and mutual aid go uncounted.

Sources: provincial statistics, the CRA, Statistics Canada.

Places to belong

Hamilton mailing addresses hold 891 registered charities

Per 1,000 residents that makes 1.4; the median is 1.4 for Ontario towns and 1.4 for Canada’s. The CRA files each charity under its mailing address, so a service town collects its region’s charities and a suburb or rural municipality few.

Volunteering

32.1%

For 2023, the provincial survey estimates that 32.1% of people in Ontario volunteered formally (likely 31.0% to 33.2%); among the ten provinces the rate goes from 25.2% to 40.3%.

Statistics Canada, table 45-10-0039.

How it compares

Ahead of most of Ontario’s town libraries on all 3 measures

Each figure is per person served, set against 195 town libraries in Ontario’s statistics for 2024.

Visits per person served 4.6 visits · typical 3.4Higher than 74%
Loans per person served 4.1 items · typical 4Higher than 55%
Cardholders 31% of people served · typical 27%Higher than 64%
Fewer per personMore per person
Who is compared

Town libraries only; regional systems left out.

A year at the library

A typical week brings about 52,610 visits

Everything counted at Hamilton Public Library in 2024: visits, loans and cards.

2,735,720
in-person visits
4.6 per person served
2,435,516
items borrowed
4.1 per person served
185,395
cardholders
31% of people served
Every day6,673items borrowed
592,000 people served
The libraries

Hamilton’s 30 public libraries

Sorted by straight-line distance from the centre of Hamilton.

0.8kmHamilton Public Library - Concession BranchDirections →2.4kmHamilton Public Library - Terryberry BranchWebsite →2.6kmHamilton Public Library - Sherwood BranchDirections →2.8kmHamilton Public Library - Central BranchWebsite →2.8kmHamilton Public Library - Barton BranchWebsite →3kmHamilton Public Library - Locke BranchWebsite →3.5kmBrock Township Public Library - Beaverton BranchDirections →4.1kmHamilton Public Library - Kenilworth BranchDirections →4.5kmHamilton Public Library - Turner Park BranchWebsite →4.7kmHamilton Public Library - West Harbour BranchWebsite →4.7kmHamilton Public Library - Westdale BranchWebsite →5.7kmHamilton Public Library - Parkdale BranchDirections →6.8kmHamilton Public Library - Valley Park BranchWebsite →7kmHamilton Public Library - Red Hill BranchDirections →8.5kmHamilton Public Library - Dundas BranchDirections →9.3kmHamilton Public Library - Saltfleet BranchDirections →9.4kmHamilton Public Library - Mount Hope BranchDirections →9.7kmHamilton Public Library - Ancaster BranchWebsite →11kmHamilton Public Library - Waterdown BranchDirections →11kmWaterdown Branch LibraryDirections →11kmGreensville BranchDirections →12kmGreensville LibraryDirections →13kmHamilton Public Library - Binbrook BranchDirections →14kmMillgrove Branch LibraryDirections →14kmHamilton Public Library - Stoney Creek BranchDirections →20kmCarlisle Branch LibraryDirections →20kmHamilton Public Library - Carlisle BranchDirections →23kmFreelton Branch LibraryDirections →23kmHamilton Public Library - Freelton BranchDirections →23kmHamilton Public Library - Lynden BranchDirections →
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Visits count everyone. A library’s visits include people from neighbouring towns and visitors; the statistics don’t say how many come from Hamilton itself.

Questions about the library and civic life in Hamilton

Does Hamilton have a public library?

Yes, 30: Hamilton Public Library - Ancaster Branch, Hamilton Public Library - Barton Branch, Hamilton Public Library - Central Branch, Hamilton Public Library - Locke Branch and 26 more.

How busy is Hamilton Public Library?

People made 2,735,720 visits in person and borrowed 2,435,516 items in 2024.

Library statistics: Ontario Public Library Statistics, 2024. Library locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Statistics Canada, Open Database of Cultural and Art Facilities (2020). Charities: Canada Revenue Agency, List of charities (2024), charitable organizations only.

Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).