Carson City’s library runs 8.4 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Carson City Public Library serves 13,145 people in and around Carson City. Last year it lent 35K books, movies and e-books and logged 26K visits.
The short version on Carson City’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Carson City Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Carson City Public Library offered 111 programs last year, 8.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. 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; Carson City Public Library serves 13,145 people in and around Carson City, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Carson City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Carson City is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Carson City is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Carson City’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
2 community nonprofits are registered in Carson City
1.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.7%
13.7% of Carson City’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 Carson City’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Carson City Public Library serves 13,145 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carson City Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
9,866 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Carson City Public Library, 102 West Main Street, Carson City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Carson City Public Library branch.
New in Carson City? 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 $2.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Carson City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $283K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $578K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $283K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,595 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carson City | Carson City Public Library | — | 42 | B− |
| Bloomer Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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.
- System-wide. Carson City Public Library serves 13,145 people in and around Carson City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Carson City.
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 Carson City
Does Carson City have a public library?
Yes. Carson City Public Library, 102 West Main Street, serves 13,145 people in and around Carson City (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carson City Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Carson City’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Carson City’s civic life grade?
B− Carson City is ahead of 50% 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 Carson City.
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.