Photo: Jefe317 · CC BY-SA 3.0North Chicago’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
North Chicago Public Library serves North Chicago’s 30,759 residents. Last year it lent 8,165 print books and media and logged 21K visits.
What North Chicago’s library is like
North Chicago Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
North Chicago Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
North Chicago’s library lends 0.3 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Lake Bluff at 13. Libraries next door ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 10% of the people North Chicago Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
North Chicago Public Library holds 52,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 North Chicago’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North Chicago has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the U.S. middle.
North Chicago’s 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 ($45K–$75K) 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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in North Chicago
1.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.1%
4.1% of North Chicago’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 North Chicago’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
North Chicago Public Library serves 30,759 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
8,165 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 North Chicago’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 52K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
About 2 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
North Chicago Public Library, 2100 Argonne Drive, North Chicago.
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 North Chicago cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $812K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $208K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $812K 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 2,995 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
North Chicago ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Bluff | Lake Bluff Public Library fine-free | 13.4 | 58 | A |
| Shields Township | Lake Forest Library fine-free | 12.0 | 67 | C |
| Waukegan Township | Waukegan Public Library fine-free | 1.5 | 54 | — graded with its twin city |
| Waukegan | Waukegan Public Library fine-free | 1.5 | 54 | D− |
| North Chicago | North Chicago Public Library fine-free | 0.3 | 60 | D− |
| Libertyville Township | Cook Memorial Public Library District fine-free | — | 68 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. North Chicago Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 North Chicago
Does North Chicago have a public library?
Yes. North Chicago Public Library, 2100 Argonne Drive, serves North Chicago’s 30,759 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Chicago Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is North Chicago’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 0.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is North Chicago’s civic life grade?
D− North Chicago has fewer library visits and community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 North Chicago.
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.