Photo: Ian Poellet (User:Werewombat) · CC BY-SA 3.0Tillamook’s library runs 40 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Tillamook County Library serves 28,000 people in and around Tillamook. Last year it lent 230K print books and media and logged 136K visits.
Tillamook’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Tillamook County Library ran 1,109 programs last year, about 21 a week. That’s 40 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 1,109 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 16 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Tillamook County Library spends $142 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) 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; Tillamook County Library serves 28,000 people in and around Tillamook, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Tillamook’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Tillamook is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #10 of 106 in Oregon. Tillamook 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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Tillamook
5.9 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
16.7%
16.7% of Tillamook’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 Tillamook’s residents live; 2022.
About 16 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Tillamook County Library serves 28,000 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Tillamook County Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
230K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Find it
Tillamook County Library, 1716 3rd St., Tillamook.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Tillamook County Library branch.
New in Tillamook? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tillamook cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $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 14,623 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tillamook | Tillamook County Library fine-free | — | 50 | A+ |
| Fairview | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Tillamook County Library serves 28,000 people in and around Tillamook, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Tillamook.
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 Tillamook
Does Tillamook have a public library?
Yes. Tillamook County Library, 1716 3rd St., serves 28,000 people in and around Tillamook (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tillamook County Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Tillamook’s library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 8.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Tillamook’s civic life grade?
A+ Tillamook is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #10 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 Tillamook.
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.