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JeffersoncourthousePhoto: Finetooth · CC BY-SA 3.0
Jefferson County Library - Boulder

Boulder’s library logs 15 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Jefferson County Library - Boulder serves 5,759 people in and around Boulder. Last year it lent 36K books, movies and e-books and logged 86K visits.

202 S Main, Boulder 59632 · about 42 hours a week
B+Civic lifeAhead of 66% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (406) 225-3241 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
36K
6.2 per resident
Visits a year
86K
15 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
1,023
about 20 a week · 12K attended
Cardholders
74%
4,237 cards
Open
42 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Boulder’s library, in brief

Five times the programs of a typical library its size

Jefferson County Library - Boulder ran 1,023 programs last year, about 20 a week. That’s 178 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 12,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓

Visits are the system’s strong suit

Jefferson County Library - Boulder logs 15 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 98% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.7 print items per resident. 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; Jefferson County Library - Boulder serves 5,759 people in and around Boulder, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Boulder’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Boulder is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. Boulder is graded on two of the three inputs. Boulder’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

B+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Boulder’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA+Community nonprofits10.1 per 1,000 residents · MT towns 9.7 · U.S. 3.7CVolunteering5.9% of adults 25–44 · MT towns 8.0% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 66%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $54K–$91K (9,162)Ahead of 64%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Boulder is small (1,305 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

13 community nonprofits are registered in Boulder

10.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture32.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation32.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.78 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.78 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.78 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.78 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.78 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other21.56 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

5.9%

5.9% of Boulder’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.0% in the typical Montana 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 Boulder’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 8 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Boulder →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5183
Ages 6–11247
Teens33
Adults486
All ages74
Little ones
3.5

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

12K
kids’ books & media borrowed
12K
people at programs
1,023
programs
How it compares

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.

Visits per resident 15 visits · typical 3Top 10%
Borrowing per resident 4.7 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 59%
Digital borrowing 1.6 e-items · typical 1Higher than 67%
Kids’ borrowing 2.1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 62%
Program attendance 2.1 attendees · typical 0.5Top 10%
Programs offered 177.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Top 10%
Cardholders 74% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 81%
Spending $70 per resident · typical $43Higher than 78%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Jefferson County Library - Boulder serves 5,759 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jefferson County Library - Boulder system. The library’s own count.

86K
visits
15 per resident
36K
loans, print + digital
6.2 per resident
1,023
programs & events
12K attended
4,237
library cards
74% of people served
Every open hour8items borrowed
Every week235people at a program
Every day4Wi-Fi sessions
5 staff (full-time equivalent)32 public computers
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

36K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

36Kloans
Books & media (adults) 41%Kids’ books & media 34%E-books, audio & streaming 25%
From your couch

9,038 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Jefferson County Library - Boulder, 202 S Main, Boulder.

Directions(406) 225-3241
42
hours open a week
2,960
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jefferson County Library - Boulder branch.

New in Boulder? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.64 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Boulder cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$70 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $403K.

Local taxes 87%State 11%Gifts & other 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $660K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $403K 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 4,237 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Visits count everyone. Boulder’s 86,480 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
  • System-wide. Jefferson County Library - Boulder serves 5,759 people in and around Boulder, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Boulder.

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 Boulder

Does Boulder have a public library?

Yes. Jefferson County Library - Boulder, 202 S Main, serves 5,759 people in and around Boulder (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Jefferson County Library - Boulder 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 Boulder’s library?

It logged 15.0 visits and lent 6.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Boulder’s civic life grade?

B+ Boulder is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Boulder.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.