Photo: M.O. Stevens · CC BY-SA 3.0Tualatin’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Tualatin Public Library serves Tualatin’s 35,666 residents. Last year it lent 424K print books and media and logged 182K visits.
Tualatin’s library, in brief
Tualatin uses its library more than almost any town its size
Tualatin Public Library logs 5.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 50% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 35 items per child in Tualatin last year. Kids & programs ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Tualatin’s library lends 12 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Lake Oswego at 14. Libraries next door ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 99,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.3 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
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 Tualatin’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Tualatin is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #88 of 106 in Oregon. Tualatin is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Tualatin’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($78K–$130K) 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 →
101 community nonprofits are registered in Tualatin
3.7 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 (18 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Tualatin’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 Tualatin’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 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 Tualatin last year.
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.
Tualatin Public Library serves 35,666 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 132 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
424K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 99K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.3 times last year, on average.
Find it
Tualatin Public Library, 18878 SW Martinazzi Ave, Tualatin.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Tualatin? 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 $2.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tualatin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.6M 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 24,229 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Tualatin ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Oswego | Lake Oswego Public Library | 14.5 | 51 | A− |
| Tigard | Tigard Public Library fine-free | 13.5 | 61 | B− |
| Sherwood | Sherwood Public Library fine-free | 12.4 | 58 | A− |
| Tualatin | Tualatin Public Library fine-free | 11.9 | 63 | C |
| Durham | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Stafford | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Rivergrove | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| King City | None of its own | — | — | D |
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 Tualatin
Does Tualatin have a public library?
Yes. Tualatin Public Library, 18878 SW Martinazzi Ave, serves Tualatin’s 35,666 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tualatin Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Tualatin’s library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 11.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Tualatin’s civic life grade?
C Tualatin is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #88 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 Tualatin.
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.