Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 4.0Beaverton’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Beaverton City Library serves Beaverton’s 148,075 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 1.9M print books and media and logged 514K visits.
Beaverton’s library, in brief
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 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 55 items per child in Beaverton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Beaverton is a town of borrowers
Beaverton City Library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 99% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 6.4 times last year. What people borrow ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 304,000 items on the shelves went out about 6.4 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Beaverton City Library ran 3,334 programs last year, about 64 a week. That’s 23 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 77,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 3,334 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 36 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Beaverton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Beaverton is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #82 of 106 in Oregon. Beaverton is graded on two of the three inputs. Beaverton’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 →
437 community nonprofits are registered in Beaverton
4.5 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 (117 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 29 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.9%
6.9% of Beaverton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.9% in the typical Oregon 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 Beaverton’s residents live; 2022.
About 43 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 Beaverton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Beaverton City Library serves 148,075 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 369 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.9M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 304K books and other items on the shelves went out about 6.4 times last year, on average.
3 places to borrow in Beaverton
Beaverton City Library, 12375 SW 5th St., Beaverton.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Beaverton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Beaverton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Beaverton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $12M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $29M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $12M 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 101,772 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Beaverton ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tigard | Tigard Public Library fine-free | 13.5 | 61 | B− |
| Beaverton | Beaverton City Library fine-free | 13.1 | 54 | B− |
| Hillsboro | Hillsboro Public Library fine-free | 11.5 | 62 | C− |
| Raleigh Hills | West Slope Community Library fine-free | 10.6 | 43 | — unincorporated |
| Aloha | Aloha Community Library fine-free | 8.0 | 44 | — unincorporated |
| Cedar Mill | Cedar Mill Community Library fine-free | — | 57 | — unincorporated |
| Portland | Central Library fine-free | — | 54 | A |
| Garden Home-Whitford | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| West Haven-Sylvan | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| West Slope | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Oak 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’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 Beaverton
Does Beaverton have a public library?
Yes. Beaverton City Library, 12375 SW 5th St., serves Beaverton’s 148,075 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Beaverton City Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Beaverton’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 13.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Beaverton’s civic life grade?
B− Beaverton is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on civic life, #82 of 106 in Oregon. 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 Beaverton.
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.