Photo: Rmhermen · CC BY-SA 4.0Dearborn’s library runs 5.7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Dearborn Public Library serves Dearborn’s 109,976 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 369K books, movies and e-books and logged 218K visits.
Dearborn’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 100,000+ people, Dearborn Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people Dearborn Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
Michigan pays a big share
21% of the budget comes from the state, and 77% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 625 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 247 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Three places to borrow in Dearborn
Dearborn Public Library runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 Dearborn’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Dearborn is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #610 of 697 in Michigan. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #154. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$82K) 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 →
288 community nonprofits are registered in Dearborn
2.7 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 (62 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 39 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.9%
8.9% of Dearborn’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 Dearborn’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Dearborn Public Library serves 109,976 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 55 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
369K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 188K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
138,330 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 Dearborn last year.
3 places to borrow in Dearborn
Dearborn Public Library, 16301 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Dearborn? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Dearborn
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dearborn cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.5M 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 19,379 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Dearborn ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen Park | Allen Park Public Library fine-free | 3.6 | 47 | C− |
| Dearborn | Dearborn Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 58 | C |
| Dearborn Heights | Dearborn Heights City Libraries fine-free | 2.6 | 54 | C |
| Melvindale | Melvindale Public Library | 1.3 | 37 | D |
| Detroit | Detroit Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 51 | D |
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 Dearborn
Does Dearborn have a public library?
Yes. Dearborn Public Library, 16301 Michigan Avenue, serves Dearborn’s 109,976 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dearborn 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 Dearborn’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 3.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Dearborn’s civic life grade?
C Dearborn is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #610 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 Dearborn.
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.