Armour Theatre Building · Photo: ovivas · CC BY-SA 3.0North Kansas City’s library logs 16 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
North Kansas City Public Library serves North Kansas City’s 4,467 residents. Last year it lent 135K books, movies and e-books and logged 74K visits.
The short version on North Kansas City’s library
More library cards than residents
15,246 cards for 4,467 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
North Kansas City borrows more library books per person than any town in Missouri
Out of 50 Missouri towns with a library of their own, North Kansas City comes first for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #1 for kids’ borrowing and #2 for library use. How it compares ↓
North Kansas City uses its library more than almost any town its size
North Kansas City Public Library logs 16 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 20 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 10 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. It’s 34% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 41% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 55 items per child in North Kansas City last year. Kids & programs ↓
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 North Kansas City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North Kansas City is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #53 of 229 in Missouri. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
North Kansas City Public Library logged 16.5 visits per resident in FY2024, #53 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 North Kansas City
4.7 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of North Kansas City’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.3% in the typical Missouri 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 North Kansas City’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 40 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
North Kansas City Public Library serves 4,467 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
135K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 61K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
46,186 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 North Kansas City last year.
Find it
North Kansas City Public Library, 2251 Howell St., North Kansas City.
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 North Kansas City? 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 $2.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Kansas City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $936K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $936K 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 15,246 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. North Kansas City’s 73,594 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 North Kansas City
Does North Kansas City have a public library?
Yes. North Kansas City Public Library, 2251 Howell St., serves North Kansas City’s 4,467 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Kansas City 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 North Kansas City’s library?
It logged 16.5 visits and lent 30.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is North Kansas City’s civic life grade?
A− North Kansas City is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #53 of 229 in Missouri. 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 North Kansas City.
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.