Aubrey R. Watzek House · Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0Portland’s library is a branch of Multnomah County Library, which lends more per resident than 98% of systems its size
Portland’s library is the Central Library, a branch of Multnomah County Library, which serves 802,464 people and lent 9.9M items last year.
What Portland’s library is like
A system of heavy borrowers
The Multnomah County Library system lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 98% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
The Multnomah County Library system spends $121 per resident a year, about three times the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
11 branches in Portland
Portland has 11 branches of the Multnomah County Library, which serves 802,464 people across the area. One card works at all of them, and at every other branch in the system. 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; Portland’s library is a branch of Multnomah County Library, so they cover the whole system (802,464 people), not just the Portland branch.
What’s behind Portland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Portland is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #22 of 106 in Oregon. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #5. Portland 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.
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 →
3,447 community nonprofits are registered in Portland
5.4 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 (703 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 150 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.2%
11.2% of Portland’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 Portland’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
9.9M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Multnomah County Library serves 802,464 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 278 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Multnomah County Library system. The library’s own count.
5,459 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
11 places to borrow in Portland
Central Library, 919 NE 19th Ave, Portland.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Multnomah County Library branch.
New in Portland? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Multnomah County Library branches in Portland
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Portland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $97M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $97M 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 350,602 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukie | Ledding Library | 14.5 | 62 | A− |
| Lake Oswego | Lake Oswego Public Library | 14.5 | 51 | A− |
| Beaverton | Beaverton City Library fine-free | 13.1 | 54 | B− |
| Happy Valley | Happy Valley Public Library | 10.8 | 60 | C |
| Raleigh Hills | West Slope Community Library fine-free | 10.6 | 43 | — unincorporated |
| Portland | Central Library fine-free | — | 54 | A |
| Gresham | Gresham Library fine-free | — | 57 | D |
| Cedar Mill | Cedar Mill Community Library fine-free | — | 57 | — unincorporated |
| Dunthorpe | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| West Haven-Sylvan | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Garden Home-Whitford | 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.
- System-wide. Central Library is one branch of Multnomah County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 802,464 people it serves.
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 Portland
Does Portland have a public library?
Yes: Central Library, 919 NE 19th Ave, is a branch of Multnomah County Library, which serves 802,464 people. The branch is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Multnomah County Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Portland’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 12.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Portland’s civic life grade?
A Portland is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #22 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 Portland.
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.