Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Milton’s library logs 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Milton Free Public Library serves Milton’s 4,536 residents. Last year it lent 6,129 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,545 visits.
The short version on Milton’s library
Milton Free Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Milton Free Public Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Milton Free Public Library spends $13 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
47% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 47% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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 Milton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Milton is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #118 of 126 in New Hampshire. Milton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Milton Free Public Library spends $13 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($71K–$118K) 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Milton
3.8 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.7%
6.7% of Milton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical New Hampshire 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 Milton’s residents live; 2022.
47% of borrowing is digital
6,129 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,950 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
2,875 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Milton Free Public Library serves 4,536 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Milton last year.
2 places to borrow in Milton
Milton Free Public Library, 13 Main Street, Milton Mills.
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 Milton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Milton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Milton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $61K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $106K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $61K 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 870 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Milton ranks 3rd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farmington | Goodwin Library fine-free | 4.2 | 30 | C− |
| Wakefield | Gafney Library fine-free | 4.2 | 27 | B− |
| Milton | Milton Free Public Library fine-free | 1.4 | 25 | C− |
| Milton Mills | Milton Free Public Library fine-free | 1.4 | 25 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Acton | Acton Public Library fine-free | 1.0 | 21 | C+ |
| Lebanon | Martha Sawyer Community Library fine-free | 0.5 | 20 | D |
| Middleton | None of its own | — | — | A |
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 Milton
Does Milton have a public library?
Yes. Milton Free Public Library, 13 Main Street, serves Milton’s 4,536 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Milton Free 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 Milton’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Milton’s civic life grade?
C− Milton is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #118 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Milton.
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.