Photo: Thunderbombman · CC BY-SA 4.0Larchmont’s library logs 7.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Larchmont Public Library serves Larchmont’s 19,480 residents. Last year it lent 319K books, movies and e-books and logged 143K visits.
The short version on Larchmont’s library
Larchmont uses its library more than almost any town its size
Larchmont Public Library logs 7.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 9.2 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 59 items per child in Larchmont last year. Kids & programs ↓
44% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 56%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Larchmont Public Library ran 1,090 programs last year, about 21 a week. That’s 56 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 22,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Larchmont invests in its library
Larchmont Public Library spends $123 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) 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.
What’s behind Larchmont’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Larchmont is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #218 of 751 in New York. Larchmont is graded on two of the three inputs. Larchmont’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Larchmont
6.2 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.1%
7.1% of Larchmont’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 Larchmont’s residents live; 2022.
44% of borrowing is digital
319K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 73K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.5 times last year, on average.
140,166 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Larchmont Public Library serves 19,480 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 109 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 10 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 Larchmont last year.
Find it
Larchmont Public Library, 121 Larchmont Avenue, Larchmont.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Larchmont? 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 $2.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Larchmont cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.4M 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 9,688 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larchmont | Larchmont Public Library | 16.4 | 56 | B+ |
| Mamaroneck | Larchmont Public Library | 16.4 | 56 | B− |
| New Rochelle | New Rochelle Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | 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.
- 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 Larchmont
Does Larchmont have a public library?
Yes. Larchmont Public Library, 121 Larchmont Avenue, serves Larchmont’s 19,480 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Larchmont 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 Larchmont’s library?
It logged 7.3 visits and lent 16.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Larchmont’s civic life grade?
B+ Larchmont is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on civic life, #218 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 Larchmont.
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.