Croton-on-Hudson’s library logs 21 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Croton Free Library serves 9,667 people in and around Croton-on-Hudson. Last year it lent 158K books, movies and e-books and logged 201K visits.
Croton-on-Hudson’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
Croton Free Library logs 21 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 31% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
17,000 people came to the system’s 794 programs last year: 1.8 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Croton Free Library spends $99 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (91%) comes from local taxes. 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; Croton Free Library serves 9,667 people in and around Croton-on-Hudson, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Croton-on-Hudson’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Croton-on-Hudson is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #15 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
Croton Free Library logged 20.8 visits per resident in FY2024, #24 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 →
45 community nonprofits are registered in Croton-on-Hudson
5.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (3 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.
12.3%
12.3% of Croton-on-Hudson’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York 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 Croton-on-Hudson’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 57 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Croton Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Croton Free Library serves 9,667 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
158K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
48,404 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Find it
Croton Free Library, 171 Cleveland Drive, Croton-On-Hudson.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Croton Free Library branch.
New in Croton-on-Hudson? 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 $2.62 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Croton-on-Hudson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $958K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $958K 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 5,234 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haverstraw | Haverstraw Kings Daughters Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 60 | C |
| Haverstraw | Hkdpl Haverstraw Village Library fine-free | 6.5 | 55 | D− |
| Croton-on-Hudson | Croton Free Library fine-free | — | 54 | A+ |
| Cortlandt | Hendrick Hudson Free Library fine-free | — | 63 | B+ |
| Ossining | Ossining Public Library fine-free | — | 58 | B− |
| Ossining | Ossining Public Library fine-free | — | 58 | C+ |
| Clarkstown | New City Free Library fine-free | — | 65 | B− |
| Crugers | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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. Croton-on-Hudson’s 200,806 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- System-wide. Croton Free Library serves 9,667 people in and around Croton-on-Hudson, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Croton-on-Hudson.
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 Croton-on-Hudson
Does Croton-on-Hudson have a public library?
Yes. Croton Free Library, 171 Cleveland Drive, serves 9,667 people in and around Croton-on-Hudson (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Croton Free 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 Croton-on-Hudson’s library?
It logged 20.8 visits and lent 16.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Its visits per resident rank #24 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare.
What is Croton-on-Hudson’s civic life grade?
A+ Croton-on-Hudson is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #15 of 751 in New York. 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 Croton-on-Hudson.
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.