Photo: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois · CC BY-SA 2.0Hoffman Estates’ library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Schaumburg Township District Library serves 130,345 people in and around Hoffman Estates. Last year it lent 2M books, movies and e-books and logged 542K visits.
The short version on Hoffman Estates’s library
Hoffman Estates uses its library more than almost any town its size
Schaumburg Township District Library logs 4.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Schaumburg Township District Library ran 3,027 programs last year, about 58 a week. That’s 23 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 96,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Hoffman Estates invests in its library
Schaumburg Township District Library spends $116 per resident a year, about three times the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (90%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 363,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.6 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
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 Hoffman Estates’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hoffman Estates is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns, #644 of 754 in Illinois. Hoffman Estates is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($80K–$134K) 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 →
102 community nonprofits are registered in Hoffman Estates
2.0 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 (30 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 16 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.5%
6.5% of Hoffman Estates’ 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 Hoffman Estates’ residents live; 2022.
About 31 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Schaumburg Township District Library serves 130,345 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 193 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 363K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.6 times last year, on average.
275,614 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
2 places to borrow in Hoffman Estates
Hoffman Estates Branch Library, 1550 Hassell Road, Hoffman Estates.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Hoffman Estates
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hoffman Estates cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $15M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M 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 64,731 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hoffman Estates borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoffman Estates | Hoffman Estates Branch Library fine-free | 15.0 | 63 | D |
| Schaumburg | Schaumburg Township District Library fine-free | 15.0 | 69 | C− |
| Palatine Township | Rolling Meadows Library fine-free | 5.9 | 71 | C+ |
| Streamwood | Poplar Creek Public Library District | — | 62 | D− |
| Elgin | Gail Borden Public Library District fine-free | — | 71 | D |
| South Barrington | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Inverness | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Barrington Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Barrington Hills | None of its own | — | — | B |
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 Hoffman Estates
Does Hoffman Estates have a public library?
Yes. Schaumburg Township District Library, 1550 Hassell Road, serves 130,345 people in and around Hoffman Estates (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Schaumburg Township District Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hoffman Estates’ library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 15.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Hoffman Estates’ civic life grade?
D Hoffman Estates is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns on civic life, #644 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 Hoffman Estates.
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.