Photo: Lrgjr72 · CC BY-SA 4.0Troy’s library lends 8.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Troy Public Library serves Troy’s 87,294 residents. Last year it lent 983K books, movies and e-books and logged 344K visits.
What Troy’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 25 items per child in Troy last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in Michigan for kids’ borrowing
Troy ranks #4 of 91 Michigan towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 181,000 items on the shelves went out about 4 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
Troy Public Library is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 291 items go out. The building ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. It’s 26% of all loans. 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 Troy’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Troy is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #396 of 697 in Michigan. Troy’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
384 community nonprofits are registered in Troy
4.4 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 (92 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 28 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.3%
7.3% of Troy’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 Troy’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 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 Troy last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Troy Public Library serves 87,294 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 291 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
983K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 181K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4 times last year, on average.
256,339 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Troy Public Library, 510 West Big Beaver Road, Troy.
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 Troy? 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 $2.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Troy cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $14M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.2M 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 71,681 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Troy ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomfield Township | Bloomfield Township Public Library | 18.5 | 66 | A |
| Troy | Troy Public Library fine-free | 11.3 | 65 | B |
| Royal Oak | Royal Oak Public Library fine-free | 9.4 | 61 | B− |
| Clawson | Blair Memorial Library | 6.2 | 38 | B+ |
| Sterling Heights | Sterling Heights Public Library | 3.6 | 56 | D− |
| Madison Heights | Madison Heights Public Library fine-free | 2.9 | 51 | C |
| Birmingham | Baldwin Public Library fine-free | — | 65 | A− |
| Rochester Hills | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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 Troy
Does Troy have a public library?
Yes. Troy Public Library, 510 West Big Beaver Road, serves Troy’s 87,294 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Troy 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 Troy’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 11.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Troy’s civic life grade?
B Troy is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on civic life, #396 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 Troy.
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.