Photo: Eric Fredericks from Rancho Cordova, California, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Idaho Falls’ library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Idaho Falls Public serves 70,700 people in and around Idaho Falls. Last year it lent 1.1M books, movies and e-books and logged 280K visits.
The short version on Idaho Falls’s library
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 50% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Idaho Falls is a town of borrowers
Idaho Falls Public lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year. What people borrow ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. 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 Idaho Falls’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Idaho Falls is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #36 of 54 in Idaho State. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
240 community nonprofits are registered in Idaho Falls
3.6 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 (39 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.1%
7.1% of Idaho Falls’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.7% in the typical Idaho State 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 Idaho Falls’ residents live; 2022.
About 11 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Idaho Falls Public serves 70,700 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 373 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 350K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year, on average.
283,765 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
3 places to borrow in Idaho Falls
Idaho Falls Public, 457 W Broadway, Idaho Falls.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Idaho Falls? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Idaho Falls
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $5.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Idaho Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.1M 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 37,245 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.
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.
- 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 Idaho Falls
Does Idaho Falls have a public library?
Yes. Idaho Falls Public, 457 W Broadway, serves 70,700 people in and around Idaho Falls (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Idaho Falls 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 Idaho Falls’ library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 16.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Idaho Falls’ civic life grade?
B− Idaho Falls is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #36 of 54 in Idaho State. 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 Idaho Falls.
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.