Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Paramus’ library logs 18 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Paramus Public Library serves Paramus’s 26,698 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 509K books, movies and e-books and logged 489K visits.
The short version on Paramus’s library
Paramus ranks 2nd in New Jersey for library use
Out of 234 New Jersey towns with a library of their own, Paramus comes 2nd for visits per resident. It’s also #3 for kids’ borrowing and #6 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
Paramus uses its library more than almost any town its size
Paramus Public Library logs 18 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 17 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 98% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Paramus Public Library ran 1,554 programs last year, about 30 a week. That’s 58 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 40,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Paramus out-borrows every town next door
At 19 loans per resident, Paramus leads the ten towns here. The closest is Ridgewood, at 14. Libraries next door ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 42 items per child in Paramus last year. Kids & programs ↓
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 Paramus’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Paramus is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #96 of 466 in New Jersey. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Paramus Public Library logged 18.3 visits per resident in FY2024, #39 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 →
167 community nonprofits are registered in Paramus
6.3 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 (54 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 12 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.7%
5.7% of Paramus’ 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 Paramus’ residents live; 2022.
About 12 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 Paramus last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Paramus Public Library serves 26,698 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 88 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
509K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 122K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.7 times last year, on average.
62,596 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Paramus
Paramus Public Library, E. 116 Century Road, Paramus.
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 Paramus? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Paramus
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Paramus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.2M 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 13,805 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Paramus borrows the most per resident of the 10 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paramus | Paramus Public Library fine-free | 19.1 | 68 | A− |
| Ridgewood | Ridgewood Public Library | 13.6 | 69 | A |
| Fair Lawn | Maurice M. Pine Free Public Library fine-free | 11.3 | 63 | B− |
| Oradell | Oradell Public Library | 11.1 | 62 | A |
| River Edge | River Edge Free Pub. Lib. | 9.2 | 49 | B+ |
| Washington Township | Wash. Twp Pub Lib/Westwood fine-free | 8.5 | 59 | B |
| Emerson | Emerson Public Library | 6.9 | 45 | B− |
| Maywood | Maywood Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 48 | C+ |
| Rochelle Park Township | Rochelle Park Public Library | 3.0 | 49 | C |
| Hackensack | Johnson Free Public Library fine-free | 2.6 | 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.
- Visits count everyone. Paramus’ 489,258 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Paramus
Does Paramus have a public library?
Yes. Paramus Public Library, E. 116 Century Road, serves Paramus’ 26,698 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paramus 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 Paramus’ library?
It logged 18.3 visits and lent 19.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Paramus’ civic life grade?
A− Paramus is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life, #96 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 Paramus.
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.