Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Boca Raton’s library runs 23 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Boca Raton Public Library serves Boca Raton’s 100,560 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 531K print books and media and logged 409K visits.
The short version on Boca Raton’s library
People come to Boca Raton Public Library a lot
Boca Raton Public Library logs 4.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 92% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.3 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Boca Raton Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Two of the three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Boca Raton Public Library ran 2,351 programs last year, about 45 a week. That’s 23 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 48,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
The main library is open about 67 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.
What’s behind Boca Raton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Boca Raton is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #59 of 273 in Florida. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #90. Boca Raton’s count of community nonprofits holds 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 →
493 community nonprofits are registered in Boca Raton
4.9 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 (114 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 42 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.4%
5.4% of Boca Raton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.6% in the typical Florida 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 Boca Raton’s residents live; 2022.
About 18 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 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Boca Raton Public Library serves 100,560 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at Downtown Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Books and media off the shelf
531K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Boca Raton’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 218K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year, on average.
2 places to borrow in Boca Raton
Downtown Library, 400 Northwest 2nd Avenue, Boca Raton.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Boca Raton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Boca Raton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $9.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.6M 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 39,266 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boca Raton | Downtown Library | 5.3 | 67 | B− |
| Delray Beach | Delray Beach Public Library fine-free | 1.8 | 61 | C+ |
| Deerfield Beach | Deerfield Beach Percy White Branch fine-free | — | 48 | D− |
| Highland Beach | Highland Beach Library | — | — | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Boca Raton
Does Boca Raton have a public library?
Yes. Boca Raton Public Library, 400 Northwest 2nd Avenue, serves Boca Raton’s 100,560 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Boca Raton Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Boca Raton’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 5.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Boca Raton’s civic life grade?
B− Boca Raton is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #59 of 273 in Florida. 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 Boca Raton.
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.