Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5Wahpeton’s library logs 5.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Leach Public Library serves Wahpeton’s 8,007 residents. Last year it lent 42K books, movies and e-books and logged 43K visits.
The short version on Wahpeton’s library
The library is a National Register landmark
Leach Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1990. Today’s library there has 6,134 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 166 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
42% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 42% of loans, more per resident than at 81% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 58%, much of it kids’ books. 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 Wahpeton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wahpeton is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #9 of 22 in North Dakota. Library visits hold 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 →
38 community nonprofits are registered in Wahpeton
4.7 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.5%
5.5% of Wahpeton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.9% in the typical North Dakota 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 Wahpeton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Leach Public Library serves 8,007 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
42% of borrowing is digital
42K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 32K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
17,850 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 Wahpeton last year.
A National Register landmark since 1990
Leach Public Library, 417 2nd Ave N, Wahpeton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wahpeton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Leach Public Library
Leach Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 26, 1990. It is significant for its education, architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Neo-Classical. It was listed as part of Philanthropically Established Libraries in North Dakota MPS.
The Leach Public Library in Wahpeton, North Dakota was built in 1923. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It was funded by Orrin Leach, who also served as Wahpeton's mayor. When his initial $25,000 contribution proved inadequate, he gave more funds. Fargo architects Keith & Kurke provided the design.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wahpeton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $306K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $723K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $306K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 2,704 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wahpeton | Leach Public Library | 5.3 | 45 | B |
| Breckenridge | Breckenridge Library | — | 42 | B− |
| Connelly Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Center Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Breckenridge Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Dwight 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Leach Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Wahpeton
Does Wahpeton have a public library?
Yes. Leach Public Library, 417 2nd Ave N, serves Wahpeton’s 8,007 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Leach Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Wahpeton’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Wahpeton’s civic life grade?
B Wahpeton is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on civic life, #9 of 22 in North Dakota. 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 Wahpeton.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.