Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0St. Charles’ library logs 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
St. Charles Public Library serves St. Charles’s 13,799 residents. Last year it lent 34K books, movies and e-books and logged 17K visits.
St. Charles’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, St. Charles 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 19% of the people St. Charles Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 62% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. 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 St. Charles’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Charles is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #171 of 271 in Minnesota. St. Charles is graded on two of the three inputs. St. Charles’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($72K–$120K) 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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in St. Charles
5.7 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.6%
4.6% of St. Charles’ 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 St. Charles’ residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
St. Charles Public Library serves 13,799 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
34K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
4,343 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 St. Charles last year.
Find it
St. Charles Public Library, 125 W. 11th Street, St. Charles.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in St. Charles? 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 $1.92 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Charles cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $276K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $530K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $276K 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 2,598 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Charles | St. Charles Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 36 | C+ |
| St. Charles Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 St. Charles
Does St. Charles have a public library?
Yes. St. Charles Public Library, 125 W. 11th Street, serves St. Charles’ 13,799 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. Charles 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 St. Charles’ library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 2.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is St. Charles’ civic life grade?
C+ St. Charles is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #171 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 St. Charles.
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.