Watford City’s library runs 7.6 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Mckenzie County Public Library serves 14,704 people in and around Watford City. Last year it lent 49K books, movies and e-books and logged 28K visits.
What Watford City’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
Mckenzie County Public Library offered 112 programs last year, 7.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 72% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 54% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 8% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. 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; Mckenzie County Public Library serves 14,704 people in and around Watford City, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Watford City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Watford City is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #2 of 22 in North Dakota. Watford City is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
33 community nonprofits are registered in Watford City
5.5 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.7%
12.7% of Watford City’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 Watford City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Mckenzie County Public Library serves 14,704 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mckenzie County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
49K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
8,343 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Mckenzie County Public Library, 112 Second Avenue NE, Watford 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. Good at every Mckenzie County Public Library branch.
New in Watford 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 $1.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Watford City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $596K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $770K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $596K 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 1,238 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mckenzie County Public Library serves 14,704 people in and around Watford City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Watford City.
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 Watford City
Does Watford City have a public library?
Yes. Mckenzie County Public Library, 112 Second Avenue NE, serves 14,704 people in and around Watford City (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mckenzie County 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 Watford City’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 3.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Watford City’s civic life grade?
A Watford City is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 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 Watford 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.