Photo: Gabriel Vanslette · CC BY 3.0Lake Elmo’s library is a branch of Washington County Library, which lends more per resident than 83% of systems its size
Lake Elmo’s library is the Lake Elmo Library, a branch of Washington County Library, which serves 257,137 people and lent 2.7M items last year.
What Lake Elmo’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 61% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. It’s 34% 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; Lake Elmo’s library is a branch of Washington County Library, so they cover the whole system (257,137 people), not just the Lake Elmo branch.
What’s behind Lake Elmo’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lake Elmo is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #230 of 271 in Minnesota. Lake Elmo is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Lake Elmo’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($115K–$192K) 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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Lake Elmo
3.1 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 (6 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.
5.8%
5.8% of Lake Elmo’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical Minnesota 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 Lake Elmo’s residents live; 2022.
About 20 kids’ programs 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Washington County Library serves 257,137 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 157 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Washington County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2.7M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
905,865 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Lake Elmo Library, 3537 Lake Elmo Ave N, Lake Elmo.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Washington County Library branch.
New in Lake Elmo? 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 $3.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lake Elmo cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $38M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.7M 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 112,919 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Elmo | Lake Elmo Library fine-free | — | 38 | C− |
| Oakdale | Oakdale Library fine-free | — | 47 | D |
| Woodbury | Rh Stafford Library fine-free | — | 58 | C |
| Stillwater Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| West Lakeland Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Baytown Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Grant | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Pine Springs | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Oak Park Heights | 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. Lake Elmo Library is one branch of Washington County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 257,137 people it serves.
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 Lake Elmo
Does Lake Elmo have a public library?
Yes: Lake Elmo Library, 3537 Lake Elmo Ave N, is a branch of Washington County Library, which serves 257,137 people. The branch is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Washington County 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 Lake Elmo’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 10.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Lake Elmo’s civic life grade?
C− Lake Elmo is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #230 of 271 in Minnesota. 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 Lake Elmo.
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.