Photo: Dblcut3 · CC BY-SA 4.0Youngstown’s library runs 23 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County serves 226,005 people in and around Youngstown from 5 locations. Last year it lent 1.5M books, movies and e-books and logged 674K visits.
Youngstown’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
47% of the budget comes from the state, and 43% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County ran 5,296 programs last year, about 102 a week. That’s 23 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 109,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County spends $89 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Five branches in Youngstown
Youngstown has five branches of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, which serves 226,005 people in and around Youngstown. 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; Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County serves 226,005 people in and around Youngstown, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Youngstown’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Youngstown is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #648 of 914 in Ohio. Youngstown is graded on two of the three inputs. Youngstown’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($26K–$43K) it does better, ahead of 58%.
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 →
360 community nonprofits are registered in Youngstown
6.1 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 (131 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 9 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.7%
3.7% of Youngstown’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 Youngstown’s residents live; 2022.
About 48 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County serves 226,005 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.5M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
418,731 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
5 places to borrow in Youngstown
Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, 305 Wick Ave., Youngstown.
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 Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County branch.
New in Youngstown? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County branches in Youngstown
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Youngstown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $24M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M 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 84,554 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youngstown | Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County fine-free | — | 61 | C+ |
| Liberty Township | Girard Free Library | — | 54 | D |
| Girard | Girard Free Library | — | 54 | A− |
| Campbell | Campbell Library fine-free | — | 54 | D− |
| Boardman Township | Boardman Library fine-free | — | 61 | C+ |
| Austintown | Austintown Library fine-free | — | 61 | — graded with its twin city |
| Austintown Township | Austintown Library fine-free | — | 61 | D |
| Struthers | Struthers Library fine-free | — | 54 | C− |
| Hubbard Township | Hubbard Public Library | — | 60 | B− |
| Coitsville Township | 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.
- System-wide. Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County serves 226,005 people in and around Youngstown, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Youngstown.
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 Youngstown
Does Youngstown have a public library?
Yes. Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, 305 Wick Ave., serves 226,005 people in and around Youngstown (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County 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 Youngstown’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Youngstown’s civic life grade?
C+ Youngstown is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on civic life, #648 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 Youngstown.
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.