Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0Arlington Heights’ library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Arlington Heights Memorial Library serves Arlington Heights’s 77,676 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 1.3M books, movies and e-books and logged 666K visits.
Arlington Heights’s library, in brief
Arlington Heights’s kids borrow the most in Illinois
Out of 30 Illinois towns with a library of their own, Arlington Heights comes first for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #9 for borrowing and #18 for library use. How it compares ↓
Arlington Heights uses its library more than almost any town its size
Arlington Heights’s library system logs 8.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 17 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 42 items per child in Arlington Heights last year. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 77 hours a week
The main library is open about 77 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 148 items go out. The buildings ↓
Arlington Heights invests in its library
Arlington Heights’s library system spends $189 per resident a year, about five times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Arlington Heights’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Arlington Heights is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #272 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits hold the grade up; Arlington Heights’ count of community nonprofits 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 →
184 community nonprofits are registered in Arlington Heights
2.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (41 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.7%
7.7% of Arlington Heights’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.1% in the typical Illinois 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 Arlington Heights’ residents live; 2022.
About 16 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 Arlington Heights last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Arlington Heights Memorial Library serves 77,676 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 148 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 245K books and other items on the shelves went out about 5.5 times last year, on average.
3 places to borrow in Arlington Heights
Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 North Dunton Avenue, Arlington Heights.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Arlington Heights
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Arlington Heights cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $15M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $21M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $15M 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 62,765 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Arlington Heights borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington Heights | Arlington Heights Memorial Library fine-free | 17.4 | 77 | B |
| Wheeling Township | Arlington Heights Memorial Library fine-free | 17.4 | 77 | D |
| Mount Prospect | Mount Prospect Public Library fine-free | 15.6 | 70 | C |
| Prospect Heights | Prospect Heights Public Library District fine-free | 12.1 | 62 | C− |
| Rolling Meadows | Rolling Meadows Library fine-free | 5.9 | 71 | C− |
| Palatine Township | Rolling Meadows Library fine-free | 5.9 | 71 | C+ |
| Palatine | Palatine Public Library District fine-free | — | 68 | C |
| Wheeling | Indian Trails Public Library District fine-free | — | 71 | D− |
| Buffalo Grove | None of its own | — | — | 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 Arlington Heights
Does Arlington Heights have a public library?
Yes. Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 North Dunton Avenue, serves Arlington Heights’ 77,676 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 77 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Arlington Heights Memorial Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Arlington Heights’ library?
It logged 8.6 visits and lent 17.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Arlington Heights’ civic life grade?
B Arlington Heights is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on civic life, #272 of 754 in Illinois. 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 Arlington Heights.
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.