Photo: Jameslwoodward · CC BY-SA 3.0Milton’s library logs 6.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Milton Public Library serves Milton’s 28,364 residents. Last year it lent 244K print books and media and logged 174K visits.
The short version on Milton’s library
Milton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Milton Public Library logs 6.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 8.6 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Milton out-borrows every town next door
At 8.6 loans per resident, Milton leads the four towns here. The closest is Quincy, at 6.1. Libraries next door ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 59% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 20 items per child in Milton last year. 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 Milton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Milton is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #125 of 283 in Massachusetts. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
120 community nonprofits are registered in Milton
4.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (18 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.8%
6.8% of Milton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Massachusetts 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 Milton’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 84 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Milton Public Library serves 28,364 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
244K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 106K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.3 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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 Milton last year.
Find it
Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Ave., Milton.
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 Milton? 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 $1.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Milton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M 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 12,128 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Milton borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton | Milton Public Library fine-free | 8.6 | 56 | B |
| Quincy | Thomas Crane Public Library fine-free | 6.1 | — | C+ |
| Boston | Boston Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | — | C |
| Randolph Town | Turner Free Library fine-free | 3.3 | 67 | 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. Massachusetts 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 Milton
Does Milton have a public library?
Yes. Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Ave., serves Milton’s 28,364 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Milton 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 Milton’s library?
It logged 6.1 visits and lent 8.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Milton’s civic life grade?
B Milton is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on civic life, #125 of 283 in Massachusetts. 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 Milton.
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.