Photo: Spongetastic69 · CC BY-SA 4.0Farmington’s library logs 5.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Farmington Libraries serves Farmington’s 26,798 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 354K books, movies and e-books and logged 155K visits.
What Farmington’s library is like
Farmington ranks 4th in Connecticut for kids’ borrowing
Out of 123 Connecticut towns with a library of their own, Farmington comes 4th for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #11 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 63% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 34 items per child in Farmington last year. Kids & programs ↓
Farmington uses its library more than almost any town its size
Farmington Libraries logs 5.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Farmington Libraries ran 920 programs last year, about 18 a week. That’s 34 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 21,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Farmington invests in its library
Farmington Libraries spends $114 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (90%) comes from local taxes. 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.
What’s behind Farmington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Farmington is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #51 of 155 in Connecticut. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
136 community nonprofits are registered in Farmington
5.0 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.9%
6.9% of Farmington’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 Farmington’s residents live; 2022.
About 11 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 Farmington last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Farmington Libraries serves 26,798 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 71 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
354K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 183K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
63,415 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Farmington
Farmington Library, 6 Monteith Drive, Farmington.
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 Farmington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Farmington
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.70 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Farmington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.1M 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 8,476 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Farmington ranks 2nd of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avon | Avon Free Public Library fine-free | 15.6 | 57 | A− |
| Farmington | Farmington Library fine-free | 13.2 | 60 | B+ |
| West Hartford | West Hartford Public Library fine-free | 11.9 | 50 | B+ |
| Newington | Lucy Robbins Welles Library fine-free | 8.0 | 52 | C+ |
| Burlington | Burlington Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 50 | B |
| Plainville | Plainville Public Library fine-free | 6.8 | 56 | C+ |
| Bristol | Bristol Public Library fine-free | 4.5 | 62 | C− |
| New Britain | New Britain Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 57 | D |
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 Farmington
Does Farmington have a public library?
Yes. Farmington Libraries, 6 Monteith Drive, serves Farmington’s 26,798 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Farmington Libraries 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 Farmington’s library?
It logged 5.8 visits and lent 13.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Farmington’s civic life grade?
B+ Farmington is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #51 of 155 in Connecticut. 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 Farmington.
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.