Photo: Etombari · CC BY-SA 4.0Highwood’s library runs 555 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Highwood Public Library serves Highwood’s 5,074 residents. Last year it lent 7,156 print books and media and logged 19K visits.
The short version on Highwood’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
63% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 23%. What your card is worth ↓
16 times the programs of a typical library its size
Highwood Public Library ran 2,815 programs last year, about 54 a week. That’s 555 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 11,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Highwood invests in its library
Highwood Public Library spends $308 per resident a year, about seven times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Highwood Public Library logs about 83 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 35 public computers. That’s 6 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Highwood’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Highwood is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #381 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits hold the grade up; Highwood’s 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Highwood
3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.3%
7.3% of Highwood’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 Highwood’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Highwood Public Library serves 5,074 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
7,156 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 Highwood’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Find it
Highwood Public Library, 102 Highwood Avenue, Highwood.
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 Highwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $320K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 1,452 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Highwood ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Park | Highland Park Public Library fine-free | 12.3 | 68 | A |
| Lake Forest | Lake Forest Library fine-free | 12.0 | 67 | A+ |
| Highwood | Highwood Public Library fine-free | 1.4 | 38 | 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 Highwood
Does Highwood have a public library?
Yes. Highwood Public Library, 102 Highwood Avenue, serves Highwood’s 5,074 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Highwood Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Highwood’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 1.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Highwood’s civic life grade?
C+ Highwood is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on civic life, #381 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 Highwood.
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.