North Arlington’s library lends 2.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
North Arlington Public Library serves North Arlington’s 16,457 residents. Last year it lent 49K books, movies and e-books and logged 45K visits.
What North Arlington’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
91% of the 417 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 73 hours a week
North Arlington Public Library is open about 73 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 64% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 58% of similar-size libraries. 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 North Arlington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North Arlington is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #383 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
North Arlington’s 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
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 →
39 community nonprofits are registered in North Arlington
2.4 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.4%
4.4% of North Arlington’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 North Arlington’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
North Arlington Public Library serves 16,457 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
49K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
12,152 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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 North Arlington last year.
Find it
No. Arlington Public Library, 210 Ridge Road, North Arlington.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in North Arlington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Arlington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $728K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $724K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $728K budget.
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 4,861 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
North Arlington ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyndhurst Township | Lyndhurst Free Public Library | 3.0 | — | C− |
| North Arlington | No. Arlington Public Library | 3.0 | 73 | D |
| Kearny | Kearny Public Library | 2.0 | 47 | D |
| Belleville Township | Belleville Free Public Library fine-free | 0.9 | 52 | D− |
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. North Arlington 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 North Arlington
Does North Arlington have a public library?
Yes. North Arlington Public Library, 210 Ridge Road, serves North Arlington’s 16,457 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 73 hours a week, averaged over the year.
How busy is North Arlington’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 3.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is North Arlington’s civic life grade?
D North Arlington is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on civic life, #383 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 North Arlington.
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.