Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0Elmhurst’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Elmhurst Public Library serves Elmhurst’s 45,786 residents. Last year it lent 873K print books and media and logged 461K visits.
What Elmhurst’s library is like
Elmhurst uses its library more than almost any town its size
Elmhurst Public Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 19 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Elmhurst ranks 5th in Illinois for library use
Out of 260 Illinois towns with a library of their own, Elmhurst comes 5th for visits per resident. It’s also #6 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Elmhurst Public Library ran 1,799 programs last year, about 35 a week. That’s 39 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 47,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 70 hours a week
Elmhurst Public Library is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 239 items go out. The building ↓
Elmhurst out-borrows every town next door
At 19.1 loans per resident, Elmhurst leads the seven towns here. The closest is York Township, at 19.1. Libraries next door ↓
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 Elmhurst’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Elmhurst is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #121 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
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 →
183 community nonprofits are registered in Elmhurst
4.0 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 (39 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.1%
8.1% of Elmhurst’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 Elmhurst’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 239 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Elmhurst Public Library serves 45,786 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Books and media off the shelf
873K 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 Elmhurst’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 213K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year, on average.
About 14 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.
Find it
Elmhurst Public Library, 125 South Prospect Avenue, Elmhurst.
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 $2.38 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elmhurst cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $6.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $16M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.8M 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 24,911 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Elmhurst borrows the most per resident of the 7 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmhurst | Elmhurst Public Library fine-free | 19.1 | 70 | A− |
| York Township | Elmhurst Public Library fine-free | 19.1 | 70 | B− |
| Oak Brook | Oak Brook Public Library fine-free | 15.4 | 62 | A |
| Villa Park | Villa Park Public Library fine-free | 10.7 | 61 | B+ |
| Proviso Township | Forest Park Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 69 | C− |
| Addison | Addison Public Library fine-free | 6.4 | 66 | C− |
| Berkeley | Berkeley Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 54 | C+ |
| Northlake | Northlake Public Library District fine-free | — | 67 | D− |
| Oakbrook Terrace | None of its own | — | — | D |
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 Elmhurst
Does Elmhurst have a public library?
Yes. Elmhurst Public Library, 125 South Prospect Avenue, serves Elmhurst’s 45,786 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elmhurst Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Elmhurst’s library?
It logged 10.1 visits and lent 19.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Elmhurst’s civic life grade?
A− Elmhurst is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #121 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 Elmhurst.
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.