Photo: M.O. Stevens · Public domainForest Grove’s library lends 8.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Forest Grove City Library serves Forest Grove’s 29,737 residents. Last year it lent 253K print books and media and drew 7,267 people to its programs.
What stands out about Forest Grove’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Forest Grove’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Forest Grove is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #78 of 106 in Oregon. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Forest Grove is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Forest Grove’s 2024 visits carries forward a 2023 figure, so it is left out.
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 →
99 community nonprofits are registered in Forest Grove
3.7 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 (18 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Forest Grove’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 Forest Grove’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 Forest Grove last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Forest Grove City Library serves 29,737 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 91 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
253K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 83K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.1 times last year, on average.
Find it
Forest Grove City Library, 2114 Pacific Ave, Forest Grove.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Forest Grove? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.69 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Forest Grove cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 10,921 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Grove | Forest Grove City Library fine-free | 8.5 | 54 | B |
| Cornelius | Cornelius Public Library fine-free | 5.8 | 53 | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Forest Grove City Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate carries forward its 2023 figure, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- 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 Forest Grove
Does Forest Grove have a public library?
Yes. Forest Grove City Library, 2114 Pacific Ave, serves Forest Grove’s 29,737 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Forest Grove City Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Forest Grove’s library?
It lent 8.5 items per resident in 2024 (print) and ran 324 programs that drew 7,267 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Forest Grove’s civic life grade?
B Forest Grove is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on civic life, #78 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 Forest Grove.
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.