Photo: John Bohnel · CC BY-SA 3.0Clinton’s library is a branch of Hunterdon County Library, which lends more per resident than 76% of systems its size
Clinton’s library is the North County Branch Library, a branch of Hunterdon County Library, which serves 118,700 people and lent 934K items last year.
Clinton’s library, in brief
Open about 67 hours a week
The Clinton branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
75% of the people it serves carry a library card
89,159 cards for 118,700 people, or 75%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. 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; Clinton’s library is a branch of Hunterdon County Library, so they cover the whole system (118,700 people), not just the Clinton branch.
What’s behind Clinton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Clinton is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #85 of 466 in New Jersey. Clinton 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Clinton
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.4%
9.4% of Clinton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.2% in the typical New Jersey 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 Clinton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Hunterdon County Library serves 118,700 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at Hunterdon County Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hunterdon County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
934K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
264,269 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 kids’ programs 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
North County Branch Library, 65 Halstead St., Annandale.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hunterdon County Library branch.
New in Clinton? 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 $2.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clinton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $14M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.4M 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 89,159 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton | North County Branch Library | — | 67 | A− |
| Clinton Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Union Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Annandale | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Franklin Township | 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.
- System-wide. North County Branch Library is one branch of Hunterdon County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 118,700 people it serves.
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 Clinton
Does Clinton have a public library?
Yes: North County Branch Library, 65 Halstead St., is a branch of Hunterdon County Library, which serves 118,700 people. The branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hunterdon County 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 Clinton’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 7.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Clinton’s civic life grade?
A− Clinton is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #85 of 466 in New Jersey. 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 Clinton.
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.