Photo: Tedder · CC BY 3.0Stayton’s library lends 18 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Stayton Public Library serves Stayton’s 8,295 residents. Last year it lent 148K print books and media and logged 44K visits.
What Stayton’s library is like
Stayton borrows more library books per person than any town in Oregon
Out of 36 Oregon towns with a library of their own, Stayton comes first for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #2 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 36 items per child in Stayton last year. 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 Stayton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Stayton is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #51 of 106 in Oregon. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
44 community nonprofits are registered in Stayton
5.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.0%
8.0% of Stayton’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 Stayton’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 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 Stayton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Stayton Public Library serves 8,295 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 78 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
148K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 53K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.8 times last year, on average.
Find it
Stayton Public Library, 515 N First Ave, Stayton.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Stayton? 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 $3.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stayton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $579K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $579K 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 6,312 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Stayton
Does Stayton have a public library?
Yes. Stayton Public Library, 515 N First Ave, serves Stayton’s 8,295 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stayton Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Stayton’s library?
It logged 5.3 visits and lent 17.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Stayton’s civic life grade?
A− Stayton is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #51 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 Stayton.
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.