Photo: Bill Whittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Fort Dodge’s library runs 4.3 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Fort Dodge Public Library serves Fort Dodge’s 31,451 residents. Last year it lent 77K print books and media and logged 64K visits.
Fort Dodge’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Fort Dodge Public Library offered 135 programs last year, 4.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Fort Dodge Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people Fort Dodge Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 Fort Dodge’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Fort Dodge is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #88 of 138 in Iowa. Fort Dodge is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Fort Dodge’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
122 community nonprofits are registered in Fort Dodge
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 (35 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.
7.7%
7.7% of Fort Dodge’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 Fort Dodge’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Fort Dodge Public Library serves 31,451 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
77K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 85K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Fort Dodge last year.
Find it
Fort Dodge Public Library, 424 Central Ave, Fort Dodge.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fort Dodge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 2,973 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Fort Dodge
Does Fort Dodge have a public library?
Yes. Fort Dodge Public Library, 424 Central Ave, serves Fort Dodge’s 31,451 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fort Dodge Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Fort Dodge’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 2.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Fort Dodge’s civic life grade?
B+ Fort Dodge is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on civic life, #88 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 Fort Dodge.
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.