Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Lorain’s library runs 23 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Lorain Public Library serves 145,206 people in and around Lorain from 2 locations. Last year it lent 1.3M books, movies and e-books and logged 450K visits.
Lorain’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
36% of the budget comes from the state, and 52% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Lorain Public Library ran 3,273 programs last year, about 63 a week. That’s 23 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Lorain Public Library spends $93 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 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; Lorain Public Library serves 145,206 people in and around Lorain, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Lorain’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lorain is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #903 of 914 in Ohio. Lorain is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Lorain’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
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 →
154 community nonprofits are registered in Lorain
2.4 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 (66 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.8%
4.8% of Lorain’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 Lorain’s residents live; 2022.
About 31 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.
Lorain Public Library serves 145,206 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 71 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lorain Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
404,024 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Lorain
Lorain Public Library, 351 W. Sixth St., Lorain.
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 Lorain Public Library branch.
New in Lorain? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Lorain Public Library branches in Lorain
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.60 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lorain cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $13M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $21M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13M 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 67,820 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lorain | Lorain Public Library fine-free | — | 59 | D |
| Amherst | Amherst Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | A |
| Sheffield Lake | Domonkas fine-free | — | 59 | C |
| Vermilion | Ritter Public Library fine-free | — | 64 | A− |
| Sheffield Township | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Sheffield | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Elyria Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Amherst Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Brownhelm Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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. Lorain Public Library serves 145,206 people in and around Lorain, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Lorain.
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 Lorain
Does Lorain have a public library?
Yes. Lorain Public Library, 351 W. Sixth St., serves 145,206 people in and around Lorain (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lorain 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 Lorain’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Lorain’s civic life grade?
D Lorain is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #903 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 Lorain.
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.