Photo: EEJCC · CC BY-SA 4.0Cincinnati’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library serves 830,639 people in and around Cincinnati from 17 locations. Last year it lent 2M books, movies and e-books and logged 4.1M visits.
The short version on Cincinnati’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library logs 4.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Ohio pays a big share
52% of the budget comes from the state, and 41% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 42% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 8.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. It’s 37% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
17 branches in Cincinnati
Cincinnati has 17 branches of the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, which serves 830,639 people in and around Cincinnati. One card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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; Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library serves 830,639 people in and around Cincinnati, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Cincinnati’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cincinnati is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #320 of 914 in Ohio. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #38. Cincinnati is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Cincinnati’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
1,765 community nonprofits are registered in Cincinnati
5.7 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 (429 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 81 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.6%
7.6% of Cincinnati’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.5% in the typical Ohio 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 Cincinnati’s residents live; 2022.
About 161 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library serves 830,639 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 169 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,385,687 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
17 places to borrow in Cincinnati
Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 800 Vine St., Cincinnati.
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 Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library branch.
New in Cincinnati? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library branches in Cincinnati
And 4 more in Cincinnati.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.23 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cincinnati cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $73M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $309M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $73M 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 396,190 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County fine-free | — | 54 | B+ |
| Anderson Township | Anderson fine-free | — | 60 | B |
| Delhi Township | Delhi Township fine-free | — | 60 | C |
| Green Township | Green Township fine-free | — | 60 | C |
| Miami Township | Miami Township fine-free | — | 54 | C+ |
| Monfort Heights | Monfort Heights fine-free | — | 58 | — unincorporated |
| Columbia Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Springfield Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Finneytown | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Addyston | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Delhi Hills | 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.
- System-wide. Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library serves 830,639 people in and around Cincinnati, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cincinnati.
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 Cincinnati
Does Cincinnati have a public library?
Yes. Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, 800 Vine St., serves 830,639 people in and around Cincinnati (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public 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 Cincinnati’s library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 24.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Cincinnati’s civic life grade?
B+ Cincinnati is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on civic life, #320 of 914 in Ohio. 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 Cincinnati.
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.