Chicago Ridge’s library runs 58 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Chicago Ridge Public Library serves Chicago Ridge’s 14,433 residents. Last year it lent 86K print books and media and logged 80K visits.
What Chicago Ridge’s library is like
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Chicago Ridge Public Library ran 834 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 58 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 15,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
Chicago Ridge Public Library is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out. The building ↓
Chicago Ridge invests in its library
Chicago Ridge Public Library spends $95 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) 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 Chicago Ridge’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Chicago Ridge is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #477 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits hold the grade up; Chicago Ridge’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$86K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Chicago Ridge
1.8 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 (4 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.
6.4%
6.4% of Chicago Ridge’s 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 Chicago Ridge’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Chicago Ridge Public Library serves 14,433 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
86K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Chicago Ridge’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 71K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
Find it
Chicago Ridge Public Library, 10400 Oxford Avenue, Chicago Ridge.
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 $1.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chicago Ridge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 3,402 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Chicago Ridge ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Lawn | Oak Lawn Public Library fine-free | 6.0 | 65 | C− |
| Chicago Ridge | Chicago Ridge Public Library fine-free | 5.9 | 65 | C |
| Bridgeview | Bridgeview Public Library fine-free | 2.8 | 48 | D |
| Worth | Worth Public Library District fine-free | 2.3 | 57 | D |
| Worth Township | Alsip-Merrionette Park Library District fine-free | — | 68 | D |
| Palos Township | Green Hills Public Library District fine-free | — | 69 | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Chicago Ridge
Does Chicago Ridge have a public library?
Yes. Chicago Ridge Public Library, 10400 Oxford Avenue, serves Chicago Ridge’s 14,433 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chicago Ridge Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Chicago Ridge’s library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 5.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Chicago Ridge’s civic life grade?
C Chicago Ridge is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on civic life, #477 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 Chicago Ridge.
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.