Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0Hamtramck’s library logs 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Hamtramck Public Library serves Hamtramck’s 28,433 residents. Last year it logged 34K visits.
The short version on Hamtramck’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Hamtramck Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people Hamtramck Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 Hamtramck’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hamtramck is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #678 of 697 in Michigan. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Hamtramck Public Library spends $17 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($29K–$49K) 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 →
50 community nonprofits are registered in Hamtramck
1.8 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 (39 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.1%
7.1% of Hamtramck’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 Hamtramck’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Hamtramck Public Library serves 28,433 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
A year at Hamtramck Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: print loans and books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
About 2 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 Hamtramck last year.
Find it
Hamtramck Public Library, 2360 Caniff Avenue, Hamtramck.
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 Hamtramck? 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 Hamtramck cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $497K.
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 4,130 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: print loans and books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 Hamtramck
Does Hamtramck have a public library?
Yes. Hamtramck Public Library, 2360 Caniff Avenue, serves Hamtramck’s 28,433 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hamtramck 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 Hamtramck’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Hamtramck’s civic life grade?
D Hamtramck is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life, #678 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 Hamtramck.
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.