Photo: M.O. Stevens at en.wikipedia · Public domainHillsboro’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Hillsboro Public Library serves Hillsboro’s 157,379 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 1.8M print books and media and logged 629K visits.
What Hillsboro’s library is like
Hillsboro uses its library more than almost any town its size
Hillsboro Public Library logs 4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 51% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 41 items per child in Hillsboro last year. Kids & programs ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 287,000 items on the shelves went out about 6.3 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Hillsboro invests in its library
Hillsboro Public Library spends $78 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. All of it comes from local taxes. 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.
What’s behind Hillsboro’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hillsboro is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #95 of 106 in Oregon. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #200. Hillsboro is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Hillsboro’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($80K–$133K) 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 →
320 community nonprofits are registered in Hillsboro
3.0 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 (90 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 12 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Hillsboro’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 Hillsboro’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 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 Hillsboro last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Hillsboro Public Library serves 157,379 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 286 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.8M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 287K books and other items on the shelves went out about 6.3 times last year, on average.
2 places to borrow in Hillsboro
Hillsboro Public Library, 2850 NE Brookwood Pkwy, Hillsboro.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hillsboro? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Hillsboro
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hillsboro cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $12M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $27M 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 88,126 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hillsboro ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
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 Hillsboro
Does Hillsboro have a public library?
Yes. Hillsboro Public Library, 2850 NE Brookwood Pkwy, serves Hillsboro’s 157,379 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hillsboro Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hillsboro’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 11.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Hillsboro’s civic life grade?
C− Hillsboro is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on civic life, #95 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 Hillsboro.
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.