Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Bridgeport’s library runs 13 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Bridgeport Public Library serves 148,028 people in and around Bridgeport from 5 locations. Last year it lent 187K books, movies and e-books and logged 220K visits.
The short version on Bridgeport’s library
Every town next door borrows more
Bridgeport’s library lends 1.3 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Fairfield at 11. Libraries next door ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people Bridgeport Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Bridgeport Public Library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, fewer than 92% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Bridgeport Public Library holds 670,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
Five places to borrow in Bridgeport
Bridgeport Public Library runs five locations, and one card works at all of them. 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.
What’s behind Bridgeport’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bridgeport is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #352. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Bridgeport’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$73K) 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 →
312 community nonprofits are registered in Bridgeport
2.1 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 (263 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 28 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.9%
2.9% of Bridgeport’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.5% in the typical Connecticut 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 Bridgeport’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Bridgeport Public Library serves 148,028 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
187K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 670K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
40,302 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 14 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.
5 places to borrow in Bridgeport
Bridgeport Public Library, 925 Broad St., Bridgeport.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bridgeport? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Bridgeport
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bridgeport cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.6M 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 19,337 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bridgeport ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield | Fairfield Public Library | 11.0 | 56 | A− |
| Trumbull | Trumbull Library | 8.9 | 60 | B+ |
| Stratford | Stratford Library Association fine-free | 5.8 | 57 | C− |
| Bridgeport | Bridgeport Public Library fine-free | 1.3 | 46 | D− |
| Trumbull Center | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Sacred Heart University | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Bridgeport
Does Bridgeport have a public library?
Yes. Bridgeport Public Library, 925 Broad St., serves 148,028 people in and around Bridgeport (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bridgeport 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 Bridgeport’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Bridgeport’s civic life grade?
D− Bridgeport is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Bridgeport.
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.