Photo: Americasroof · CC BY-SA 3.0Boulder City’s library runs 74 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Boulder City Library District serves 14,958 people in and around Boulder City. Last year it lent 120K books, movies and e-books and logged 63K visits.
The short version on Boulder City’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Boulder City Library District ran 1,101 programs last year, about 21 a week. That’s 74 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 56% of loans, more per resident than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 44%. What people borrow ↓
Nevada pays a big share
35% of the budget comes from the state, and 59% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A well-funded system
Boulder City Library District spends $133 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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; Boulder City Library District serves 14,958 people in and around Boulder City, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Boulder City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Boulder City is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #3 of 16 in Nevada. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Boulder City’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
51 community nonprofits are registered in Boulder City
3.4 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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.1%
10.1% of Boulder City’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.0% in the typical Nevada 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 Boulder City’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Boulder City Library District serves 14,958 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Boulder City Library District system. The library’s own count.
56% of borrowing is digital
120K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
67,609 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Boulder City Library, 701 Adams Boulevard, Boulder City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Boulder City Library District branch.
New in Boulder City? 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 Boulder City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M 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 6,989 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boulder City | Boulder City Library | — | 56 | B+ |
| Henderson | Paseo Verde Library | — | 56 | 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.
- System-wide. Boulder City Library District serves 14,958 people in and around Boulder City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Boulder City.
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 Boulder City
Does Boulder City have a public library?
Yes. Boulder City Library District, 701 Adams Boulevard, serves 14,958 people in and around Boulder City (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Boulder City Library District 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 Boulder City’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 8.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Boulder City’s civic life grade?
B+ Boulder City is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 of 16 in Nevada. 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 Boulder 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.