Photo: Russell Lee · Public domainCascade’s library runs 773 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Cascade Public serves 1,012 people in and around Cascade. Last year it lent 6,449 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,792 visits.
The short version on Cascade’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
84% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 16%. What your card is worth ↓
13 times the programs of a typical library its size
Cascade Public ran 782 programs last year, about 15 a week. That’s 773 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Cascade Public serves 1,012 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 34 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Cascade invests in its library
Cascade Public spends $191 per resident a year, about four times the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans, more per resident than at 84% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 57%, much of it kids’ books. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Cascade’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Cascade is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Cascade
6.6 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
17.9%
17.9% of Cascade’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 Cascade’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Cascade Public serves 1,012 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
43% of borrowing is digital
6,449 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
2,754 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
Find it
Cascade Public, 105 N Front St., Cascade.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cascade cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $194K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $110K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $194K 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 529 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Cascade
Does Cascade have a public library?
Yes. Cascade Public, 105 N Front St., serves 1,012 people in and around Cascade (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cascade Public fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Cascade’s library?
It logged 5.7 visits and lent 6.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Cascade’s civic life grade?
A+ Cascade is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Cascade.
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.