Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0Sioux City’s library runs 5.7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Sioux City Public Library serves Sioux City’s 85,797 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 200K print books and media and logged 257K visits.
What Sioux City’s library is like
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Sioux City Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All four libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Sioux City Public Library offered 493 programs last year, 5.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 493 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Three places to borrow in Sioux City
Sioux City Public Library runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. 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 Sioux City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sioux City is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #135 of 138 in Iowa. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$86K) 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 →
238 community nonprofits are registered in Sioux City
2.8 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 (84 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.
4.8%
4.8% of Sioux 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 Sioux City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Sioux City Public Library serves 85,797 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
200K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 150K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
About 7 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 Sioux City last year.
3 places to borrow in Sioux City
Sioux City Public Library, 529 Pierce St., Sioux City.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Sioux City
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sioux City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.5M 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 41,967 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Sioux City ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Sioux City | North Sioux City Community Library fine-free | 18.7 | 44 | C |
| Sioux City | Sioux City Public Library | 2.3 | 58 | C− |
| Dakota City | Dakota City Public Library fine-free | 2.2 | 29 | C− |
| South Sioux City | South Sioux City Public Library fine-free | 1.3 | 59 | D |
| Sergeant Bluff | Sergeant Bluff Public/School Library fine-free | 1.0 | 47 | C+ |
| Big Sioux Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Dakota Dunes | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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 Sioux City
Does Sioux City have a public library?
Yes. Sioux City Public Library, 529 Pierce St., serves Sioux City’s 85,797 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sioux City Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Sioux City’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Sioux City’s civic life grade?
C− Sioux City is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #135 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 Sioux 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.