Zwemer Hall, Northwestern College · Photo: Tlandegent at en.wikipedia · Public domainOrange City’s library lends 19 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Orange City Public Library serves Orange City’s 6,775 residents. Last year it lent 126K print books and media and logged 47K visits.
What Orange City’s library is like
Orange City borrows more library books per person than any town in Iowa
Out of 51 Iowa towns with a library of their own, Orange City comes first for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #2 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 47 items per child in Orange City last year. Kids & programs ↓
Orange City uses its library more than almost any town its size
Orange City Public Library logs 7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 19 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. 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 Orange City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Orange City is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #29 of 138 in Iowa. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
43 community nonprofits are registered in Orange City
6.6 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.8%
8.8% of Orange City’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 Orange City’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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Orange City last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Orange City Public Library serves 6,775 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 46 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
126K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
Find it
Orange City Public Library, 112 Albany Ave SE, Orange City.
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 $3.81 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Orange City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $492K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $492K 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 4,306 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange City | Orange City Public Library fine-free | 18.6 | 52 | A |
| Alton | Alton Public Library fine-free | 11.2 | 46 | A |
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 Orange City
Does Orange City have a public library?
Yes. Orange City Public Library, 112 Albany Ave SE, serves Orange City’s 6,775 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Orange City Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Orange City’s library?
It logged 7.0 visits and lent 18.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Orange City’s civic life grade?
A Orange City is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #29 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 Orange City.
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.