Photo: AllenS · Public domainFarmington’s library runs 10 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Farmington Public Library serves Farmington’s 46,624 residents. Last year it lent 306K books, movies and e-books and logged 141K visits.
What Farmington’s library is like
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 83% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Farmington invests in its library
Farmington Public Library spends $92 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
76% of Farmington carry a library card
35,437 cards for 46,624 people, or 76%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. 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.
What’s behind Farmington’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Farmington is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #25 of 46 in New Mexico. Farmington is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$86K) 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 →
120 community nonprofits are registered in Farmington
2.6 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 (51 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Farmington Public Library serves 46,624 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 119 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
306K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 175K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
124,267 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 Farmington last year.
Find it
Farmington Public Library, 2101 Farmington Ave., Farmington.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Farmington? 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 $1.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Farmington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.3M 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 35,437 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farmington | Farmington Public Library | 6.6 | 50 | C |
| Flora Vista | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Crouch Mesa | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| La Plata | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Lee Acres | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Totah Vista | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| South River | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Upper Fruitland | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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 Farmington
Does Farmington have a public library?
Yes. Farmington Public Library, 2101 Farmington Ave., serves Farmington’s 46,624 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Farmington 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 Farmington’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 6.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Farmington’s civic life grade?
C Farmington is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on civic life, #25 of 46 in New Mexico. 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 Farmington.
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.