Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0East St. Louis’ library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
East Saint Louis Public Library serves East St. Louis’s 18,469 residents. Last year it logged 19K visits.
What East St. Louis’s library is like
Illinois pays a big share
89% of the budget comes from the state, and 10% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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 East St. Louis’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, East St. Louis is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns, #635 of 754 in Illinois. East St. Louis’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
East Saint Louis Public Library spends $26 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size, and its 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($27K–$45K) 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 →
89 community nonprofits are registered in East St. Louis
5.0 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 (50 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.0%
2.0% of East St. Louis’ 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 East St. Louis’ residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
East Saint Louis Public Library serves 18,469 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
A year at East St. Louis Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Loans aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 135 items borrowed against 19K visits, so we leave the count out.
Find it
East St. Louis Public Library, 5300 State Street, East St. Louis.
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 East St. Louis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $474K.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 539 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairview Heights | Fairview Heights Public Library | 3.8 | 54 | B− |
| Canteen Township | Fairmont City Library Center fine-free | 2.7 | 46 | D |
| Fairmont City | Fairmont City Library Center fine-free | 2.7 | 46 | C− |
| Belleville | Belleville Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 60 | C |
| East St. Louis | East St. Louis Public Library | — | 58 | C− |
| East St. Louis Township | East St. Louis Public Library | — | 58 | — graded with its twin city |
| Centreville Township | Cahokia Public Library District | — | 49 | D |
| Cahokia Heights | Cahokia Public Library District | — | 49 | D− |
| Washington Park | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Stites Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sauget | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. East Saint Louis Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Loans left out. This year’s loan count is far below the library’s visits and shelves, so we leave it out.
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 East St. Louis
Does East St. Louis have a public library?
Yes. East Saint Louis Public Library, 5300 State Street, serves East St. Louis’ 18,469 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Saint Louis Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is East St. Louis’ library?
It logged 1.0 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is East St. Louis’ civic life grade?
C− East St. Louis is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns on civic life, #635 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 East St. Louis.
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.