Photo: edward P. steinburg desnged · CC BY-SA 3.0Waukegan’s library lends 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Waukegan Public Library serves Waukegan’s 89,321 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 134K print books and media and logged 143K visits.
What Waukegan’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Waukegan Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people Waukegan Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
54% of the 825 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 275 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Waukegan’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Waukegan is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #723 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($54K–$90K) 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 →
158 community nonprofits are registered in Waukegan
1.8 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 (77 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.4%
3.4% of Waukegan’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 Waukegan’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Waukegan Public Library serves 89,321 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
134K 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 Waukegan’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 145K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
About 5 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.
2 places to borrow in Waukegan
Waukegan Public Library, 128 North County Street, Waukegan.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Waukegan
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Waukegan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.7M 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 12,094 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Waukegan ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gurnee | Warren-Newport Public Library District fine-free | 5.3 | 68 | C |
| Warren Township | Warren-Newport Public Library District fine-free | 5.3 | 68 | C− |
| Waukegan | Waukegan Public Library fine-free | 1.5 | 54 | D− |
| Waukegan Township | Waukegan Public Library fine-free | 1.5 | 54 | — graded with its twin city |
| North Chicago | North Chicago Public Library fine-free | 0.3 | 60 | D− |
| Libertyville Township | Cook Memorial Public Library District fine-free | — | 68 | B |
| Beach Park | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Park City | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Wadsworth | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Green Oaks | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Newport Township | None of its own | — | — | 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 Waukegan
Does Waukegan have a public library?
Yes. Waukegan Public Library, 128 North County Street, serves Waukegan’s 89,321 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Waukegan Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Waukegan’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 1.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Waukegan’s civic life grade?
D− Waukegan is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #723 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 Waukegan.
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.