Mary's City of David · Photo: FotoGuy 49057 · CC BY 2.0Benton Township has no public library of its own; the nearest is Benton Harbor Public Library in Benton Harbor, 3 miles away
Benton Township doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Benton Harbor Public Library in Benton Harbor, 3 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
CCivic lifeAhead of 29% of U.S. towns · #624 of 697 in Michigan. Nonprofits and volunteering.Getting a library card from Benton Township
Benton Township borrows from the libraries next door
Benton Township has no public library of its own, but four libraries are within 10 miles, the closest being Benton Harbor Public Library in Benton Harbor (3 miles). Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓
Benton Township isn’t the only town nearby without one
Benton Heights, Fair Plain and Bainbridge Township don’t have a public library of their own either. Among the towns next door, Benton Harbor (Benton Harbor Public Library) and Sodus Township (Sodus Township Library) do. Libraries next door ↓
The closest isn’t the one open longest
Benton Harbor Public Library is nearest, open about 40 hours a week. Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library, 4.6 miles away, is open about 53 hours a week, so it may be easier to fit in. Nearest libraries ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Benton Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Benton Township is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #624 of 697 in Michigan. Benton Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Benton Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($29K–$48K) 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 →
52 community nonprofits are registered in Benton Township
3.6 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.0%
6.0% of Benton Township’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 12.4% in the typical Michigan 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 Benton Township’s residents live; 2022.
The closest is 3 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Benton Township. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sodus Township | Sodus Township Library fine-free | 0.7 | 35 | C+ |
| Benton Harbor | Benton Harbor Public Library fine-free | — | 40 | B− |
| Benton Heights | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Fair Plain | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Bainbridge Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Royalton Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Hagar Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Millburg | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Benton Township
Does Benton Township have a public library?
No. The closest is Benton Harbor Public Library in Benton Harbor, 3 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Benton Township’s civic life grade?
C Benton Township is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on civic life, #624 of 697 in Michigan. 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 Benton Township.
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.