Photo: Mvanderkolk · CC BY-SA 4.0Arvada’s library is a branch of Jefferson County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 96% of systems its size
Arvada’s library is the Arvada Library, a branch of Jefferson County Public Library, which serves 576,381 people and lent 8.8M items last year.
What Arvada’s library is like
A system of heavy borrowers
The Jefferson County Public Library system lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 26% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 7,971 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 96 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
The Arvada branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
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; Arvada’s library is a branch of Jefferson County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (576,381 people), not just the Arvada branch.
What’s behind Arvada’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Arvada is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #73 of 104 in Colorado. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #163. Arvada is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($88K–$147K) 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 →
375 community nonprofits are registered in Arvada
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 (92 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 17 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.0%
7.0% of Arvada’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.8% in the typical Colorado 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 Arvada’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
8.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,303,168 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 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Jefferson County Public Library serves 576,381 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 232 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jefferson County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 110 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.
3 places to borrow in Arvada
Arvada Library, 7525 West 57th Avenue, Arvada.
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 Jefferson County Public Library branch.
New in Arvada? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Jefferson County Public Library branches in Arvada
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Arvada cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $45M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $132M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $45M 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 301,245 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster | College Hill Library fine-free | 5.3 | 57 | C− |
| Arvada | Arvada Library fine-free | — | 65 | C |
| Wheat Ridge | Wheat Ridge Library fine-free | — | 65 | B− |
| Fairmount | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Berkley | 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.
- System-wide. Arvada Library is one branch of Jefferson County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 576,381 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 Arvada
Does Arvada have a public library?
Yes: Arvada Library, 7525 West 57th Avenue, is a branch of Jefferson County Public Library, which serves 576,381 people. The branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jefferson County 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 Arvada’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 15.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Arvada’s civic life grade?
C Arvada is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on civic life, #73 of 104 in Colorado. 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 Arvada.
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.