New Center Commercial Historic District · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 4.0Ecorse’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Ecorse Public Library serves Ecorse’s 9,305 residents. Last year it lent 2,444 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,358 visits.
What Ecorse’s library is like
Ecorse Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Ecorse Public Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Ecorse’s library lends 0.3 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Wyandotte at 5.3. Libraries next door ↓
Programs are almost all for children
82% of the 72 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 31 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
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 Ecorse’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ecorse is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Ecorse’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($30K–$50K) 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Ecorse
1.7 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.1%
4.1% of Ecorse’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 Ecorse’s residents live; 2022.
48% of borrowing is digital
2,444 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
1,184 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ecorse Public Library serves 9,305 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Ecorse last year.
Find it
Ecorse Public Library, 4184 West Jefferson Ave., Ecorse.
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 Ecorse? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ecorse cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $336K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $65K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $336K 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 279 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ecorse ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyandotte | Bacon Memorial District Library fine-free | 5.3 | 54 | B− |
| River Rouge | River Rouge Public Library | 2.2 | 30 | D− |
| Lincoln Park | Lincoln Park Public Library fine-free | 0.7 | 39 | D− |
| Detroit | Detroit Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 51 | D |
| Ecorse | Ecorse Public Library fine-free | 0.3 | 30 | 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 Ecorse
Does Ecorse have a public library?
Yes. Ecorse Public Library, 4184 West Jefferson Ave., serves Ecorse’s 9,305 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ecorse 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 Ecorse’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 0.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ecorse’s civic life grade?
D− Ecorse is ahead of 2% 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 Ecorse.
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.