Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Norwalk’s library runs 105 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Rowayton Library serves 4,100 people in and around Norwalk. Last year it lent 26K books, movies and e-books and logged 16K visits.
The short version on Norwalk’s library
Every town next door borrows more
Norwalk’s library lends 6.4 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Darien at 25. Libraries next door ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Rowayton Library ran 431 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 105 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
31% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 69%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
56% of the 431 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 159 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Norwalk’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Norwalk is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #137 of 155 in Connecticut. Norwalk is graded on two of the three inputs. Norwalk’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($81K–$135K) 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 →
343 community nonprofits are registered in Norwalk
3.7 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 (67 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 15 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.5%
4.5% of Norwalk’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 Norwalk’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Rowayton Library serves 4,100 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
26K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 30K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
4,174 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
4 places to borrow in Norwalk
Rowayton Library, 33 Highland Ave., Norwalk.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Norwalk? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Norwalk
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Norwalk cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $303K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $429K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $303K 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 1,685 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Norwalk ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darien | Darien Library | 25.0 | 72 | B+ |
| New Canaan | New Canaan Library | 13.6 | 63 | A− |
| Westport | Westport Library | 13.3 | 66 | A |
| Wilton | Wilton Library Association | 12.7 | 55 | A |
| Norwalk | Rowayton Library | 6.4 | 46 | C− |
| Tokeneke | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Saugatuck | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Old Hill | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Poplar Plains | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| South Wilton | 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 Norwalk
Does Norwalk have a public library?
Yes. Rowayton Library, 33 Highland Ave., serves 4,100 people in and around Norwalk (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rowayton 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 Norwalk’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 6.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Norwalk’s civic life grade?
C− Norwalk is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #137 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 Norwalk.
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.