Photo: King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0Jersey City’s library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Jersey City Free Public Library serves Jersey City’s 292,449 residents from 10 locations. Last year it lent 550K books, movies and e-books and logged 563K visits.
Jersey City’s library, in brief
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 70% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 77% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Ten places to borrow in Jersey City
Jersey City Free Public Library runs ten locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 2,737 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 25 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Jersey City Free Public Library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, fewer than 88% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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 Jersey City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Jersey City is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #400 of 466 in New Jersey. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #291. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($73K–$122K) 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 →
658 community nonprofits are registered in Jersey City
2.2 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 (234 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 47 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.1%
5.1% of Jersey City’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 Jersey City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Jersey City Free Public Library serves 292,449 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
550K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 423K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
177,305 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 35 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 Jersey City last year.
10 places to borrow in Jersey City
Jersey City Public Library, 472 Jersey Avenue, Jersey City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Jersey City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Jersey City
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jersey City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $16M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $16M 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 170,517 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Jersey City ranks 4th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secaucus | Secaucus Free Public Library | 4.5 | 71 | C− |
| Hoboken | Hoboken Public Library fine-free | 4.2 | 59 | C+ |
| Kearny | Kearny Public Library | 2.0 | 47 | D |
| Jersey City | Jersey City Public Library | 1.9 | 60 | D |
| North Bergen Township | North Bergen Public Library | 1.9 | 63 | D− |
| Union City | Union City Public Library fine-free | 0.8 | 54 | D− |
| Bayonne | Bayonne Free Public Library fine-free | 0.4 | 64 | D− |
| New York | Brooklyn Public Library fine-free | — | 64 | C− |
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 Jersey City
Does Jersey City have a public library?
Yes. Jersey City Free Public Library, 472 Jersey Avenue, serves Jersey City’s 292,449 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jersey City Free 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 Jersey City’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Jersey City’s civic life grade?
D Jersey City is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #400 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 Jersey 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.