Photo: Tamanoeconomico · CC BY-SA 4.0Caldwell’s library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Caldwell Public serves 70,901 people in and around Caldwell. Last year it lent 172K books, movies and e-books and logged 163K visits.
What Caldwell’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Caldwell Public sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Caldwell Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. Today’s library there has 16,600 square feet. The building ↓
Idaho pays a big share
23% of the budget comes from the state, and 62% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
45% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 45% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
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 Caldwell’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Caldwell is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #43 of 54 in Idaho. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Caldwell’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($55K–$91K) 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 →
170 community nonprofits are registered in Caldwell
2.6 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 (57 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.3%
9.3% of Caldwell’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.7% in the typical Idaho 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 Caldwell’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1979
Caldwell Public, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Caldwell? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Caldwell Carnegie Library
Caldwell Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 18, 1979. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Renaissance Revival.
The Caldwell Carnegie Library in Caldwell, Idaho, also known as the Caldwell Veterans Memorial Hall, was constructed from a grant by the Carnegie library foundation. The building opened in 1914 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places June 18, 1979. Its modest, 1-story Renaissance design is credited to Charles Carroll Soule and features reading rooms on either side of the main entrance.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Caldwell Public serves 70,901 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 55 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
45% of borrowing is digital
172K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 48K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
77,733 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.62 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Caldwell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 23,140 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nampa | Nampa Public fine-free | 8.0 | 61 | C+ |
| Caldwell | Caldwell Public fine-free | 2.4 | 61 | C+ |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Caldwell Public counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Caldwell
Does Caldwell have a public library?
Yes. Caldwell Public, 1010 Dearborn St., serves 70,901 people in and around Caldwell (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Caldwell Public fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Caldwell’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Caldwell’s civic life grade?
C+ Caldwell is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on civic life, #43 of 54 in Idaho. 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 Caldwell.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.