Photo: Kepper66 · CC BY-SA 3.0Davenport’s library logs 2.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Davenport Public Library serves Davenport’s 101,724 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 298K print books and media and logged 300K visits.
What stands out about Davenport’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Davenport’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Davenport is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #104 of 138 in Iowa. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #69. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
397 community nonprofits are registered in Davenport
3.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (109 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 9 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.9%
8.9% of Davenport’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Iowa 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 Davenport’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Davenport Public Library serves 101,724 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
298K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 193K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
About 12 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 Davenport last year.
3 places to borrow in Davenport
Davenport Public Library, 321 Main St., Davenport.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Davenport
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Davenport cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $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 46,247 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Davenport ranks 5th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bettendorf | Bettendorf Public Library Information Center fine-free | 9.2 | 61 | A− |
| Rock Island Township | Rock Island Public Library fine-free | 4.2 | 44 | A− |
| Blackhawk Township | Southwest Branch Library fine-free | 4.2 | 44 | A |
| South Rock Island Township | Watts-Midtown Branch Library fine-free | 4.2 | 56 | A− |
| Davenport | Davenport Public Library fine-free | 2.9 | 54 | B |
| Andalusia Township | Andalusia Township Library | 2.6 | 32 | C |
| Eldridge | Scott County Library System fine-free | — | 64 | A |
| Buffalo | Buffalo Branch fine-free | — | 23 | A |
| Rock Island Arsenal | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Moline Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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.
- 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 Davenport
Does Davenport have a public library?
Yes. Davenport Public Library, 321 Main St., serves Davenport’s 101,724 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Davenport Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Davenport’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 2.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Davenport’s civic life grade?
B Davenport is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on civic life, #104 of 138 in Iowa. 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 Davenport.
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.