Gray County Courthouse (Old) · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Cimarron’s library logs 49 visits per resident, the second-highest of 3,790 U.S. town libraries
Cimarron City Library serves Cimarron’s 1,952 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 95K visits.
Cimarron’s library, in brief
Cimarron uses its library more than almost any town its size
Cimarron City Library logs 49 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Cimarron last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A place to get online
Cimarron City Library logs about 30 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 7 public computers. That’s 5.6 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Cimarron invests in its library
Cimarron City Library spends $147 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Cimarron’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Cimarron is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
Cimarron City Library logged 48.7 visits per resident in FY2024, #2 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Cimarron
11.8 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.1%
12.1% of Cimarron’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.7% in the typical Kansas 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 Cimarron’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Cimarron City Library serves 1,952 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
6,348 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Cimarron last year.
2 places to borrow in Cimarron
Cimarron City Library, 120 North Main, Cimarron.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Cimarron? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Cimarron
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.54 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cimarron cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $287K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $444K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $287K 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 858 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Cimarron’s 95,000 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Cimarron City Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Cimarron
Does Cimarron have a public library?
Yes. Cimarron City Library, 120 North Main, serves Cimarron’s 1,952 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cimarron City Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Cimarron’s library?
It logged 48.7 visits and lent 13.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Its visits per resident rank #2 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare.
What is Cimarron’s civic life grade?
A+ Cimarron is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Cimarron.
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.