Photo: Nandaro · CC BY-SA 3.0Niagara Falls’ library logs 3.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Niagara Falls Public Library serves Niagara Falls’s 48,671 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 93K print books and media and logged 166K visits.
What Niagara Falls’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
Niagara Falls Public Library offered 250 programs last year, 5.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Niagara Falls Public Library holds 188,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Niagara Falls’ civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Niagara Falls is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #461 of 751 in New York. Niagara Falls is graded on two of the three inputs. Library visits hold the grade up; Niagara Falls’ count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($37K–$61K) 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 →
156 community nonprofits are registered in Niagara Falls
3.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (74 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Niagara Falls Public Library serves 48,671 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
93K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 188K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Niagara Falls last year.
2 places to borrow in Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls Public Library, 1425 Main Street, Niagara Falls.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Niagara Falls? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Niagara Falls
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Niagara Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 22,616 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Island | Grand Island Memorial Library fine-free | 6.0 | 45 | C+ |
| Niagara Falls | Niagara Falls Public Library | 1.9 | 60 | C+ |
| Lewiston | Lewiston Public Library | — | 41 | C |
| Niagara | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Wheatfield | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Niagara Falls
Does Niagara Falls have a public library?
Yes. Niagara Falls Public Library, 1425 Main Street, serves Niagara Falls’ 48,671 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Niagara Falls 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 Niagara Falls’ library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 1.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Niagara Falls’ civic life grade?
C+ Niagara Falls is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #461 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 Niagara Falls.
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.