Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Syracuse’s library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Hamilton County Public Library serves 2,437 people in and around Syracuse. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 32K visits.
Syracuse’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 93% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 47%. The building also logs about 76 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 97% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Hamilton County Public Library ran 642 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 263 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 12,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 71% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 70% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 642 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Hamilton County Public Library spends $114 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) 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; Hamilton County Public Library serves 2,437 people in and around Syracuse, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Syracuse’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Syracuse is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. Syracuse is graded on two of the three inputs. Syracuse’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($51K–$84K) 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Syracuse
4.7 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.9%
2.9% of Syracuse’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 Syracuse’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hamilton County Public Library serves 2,437 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hamilton County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,997 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hamilton County Public Library, 102 W. Ave C, Syracuse.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hamilton County Public Library branch.
New in Syracuse? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.38 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Syracuse cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $277K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $383K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $277K 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 1,658 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hamilton County Public Library serves 2,437 people in and around Syracuse, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Syracuse.
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 Syracuse
Does Syracuse have a public library?
Yes. Hamilton County Public Library, 102 W. Ave C, serves 2,437 people in and around Syracuse (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hamilton County Public 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 Syracuse’s library?
It logged 13.0 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Syracuse’s civic life grade?
C Syracuse is ahead of 26% 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 Syracuse.
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.