Photo: Tamanoeconomico · CC BY-SA 4.0Nampa’s library lends 6.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Nampa Public serves 115,008 people in and around Nampa. Last year it lent 915K books, movies and e-books and logged 252K visits.
Nampa’s library, in brief
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 85% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 140,000 items on the shelves went out about 5.4 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
A place to get online
Nampa Public logs about 1,265 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 34 public computers. That’s 4 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 903 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 326 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Nampa’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Nampa is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #40 of 54 in Idaho. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #114. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($56K–$93K) 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 →
304 community nonprofits are registered in Nampa
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (113 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.
10.5%
10.5% of Nampa’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 Nampa’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Nampa Public serves 115,008 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 253 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
915K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 140K books and other items on the shelves went out about 5.4 times last year, on average.
160,362 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Nampa Public, 215 12th Ave S, Nampa.
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 Nampa? The Handbook →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 $5.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Nampa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $15M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.8M 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 35,994 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.
- 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 Nampa
Does Nampa have a public library?
Yes. Nampa Public, 215 12th Ave S, serves 115,008 people in and around Nampa (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Nampa 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 Nampa’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 8.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Nampa’s civic life grade?
C+ Nampa is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on civic life, #40 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 Nampa.
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.