Photo: Sea Cow · CC BY-SA 4.0Naperville’s library logs 8.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Naperville Public Library serves Naperville’s 149,540 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 2.4M print books and media and logged 1.3M visits.
The short version on Naperville’s library
Naperville uses its library more than almost any town its size
Naperville Public Library logs 8.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in Illinois for borrowing
Naperville ranks #12 of 259 Illinois towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 16 items per resident, more than at 99% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
112,000 people came to the library’s 2,699 programs last year: 0.7 per resident, against a typical 0.2, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 73 hours a week
The main library is open about 73 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 216 items go out. The buildings ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 495,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.9 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 Naperville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Naperville is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #128 of 754 in Illinois. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #25. 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 →
625 community nonprofits are registered in Naperville
4.2 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 (110 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 35 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.1%
8.1% of Naperville’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 Naperville’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 216 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 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Naperville Public Library serves 149,540 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Books and media off the shelf
2.4M 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 Naperville’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 495K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.9 times last year, on average.
About 34 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.
3 places to borrow in Naperville
Naperville Public Library, 200 West Jefferson Avenue, Naperville.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Naperville
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Naperville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $17M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $43M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $17M 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 63,079 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Naperville ranks 2nd of 10 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton Township | Glen Ellyn Public Library fine-free | 19.3 | 69 | B− |
| Naperville | Naperville Public Library fine-free | 16.1 | 73 | A− |
| Naperville Township | Naperville Public Library fine-free | 16.1 | 73 | C |
| Lisle Township | Woodridge Public Library fine-free | 12.5 | 70 | C+ |
| Warrenville | Warrenville Public Library District fine-free | 12.0 | 65 | B+ |
| Winfield Township | Warrenville Public Library District fine-free | 12.0 | 65 | C− |
| Lisle | Lisle Library District fine-free | 11.6 | 67 | B |
| Bolingbrook | Fountaindale Public Library District fine-free | 9.3 | 72 | D |
| Plainfield | Plainfield Public Library District fine-free | 5.4 | 62 | C+ |
| Aurora | Aurora Public Library District fine-free | 5.1 | 66 | 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 Naperville
Does Naperville have a public library?
Yes. Naperville Public Library, 200 West Jefferson Avenue, serves Naperville’s 149,540 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 73 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Naperville Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Naperville’s library?
It logged 8.6 visits and lent 16.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Naperville’s civic life grade?
A− Naperville is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #128 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 Naperville.
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.