Photo: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0East Ridge’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
East Ridge City Library serves East Ridge’s 21,961 residents. Last year it lent 35K books, movies and e-books and logged 28K visits.
The short version on East Ridge’s library
East Ridge City Library is used less than most libraries its size
East Ridge City Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
East Ridge City Library offered 149 programs last year, 6.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
East Ridge City Library spends $12 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 3% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 96% of similar-size libraries. 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 East Ridge’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, East Ridge is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #130 of 150 in Tennessee. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; East Ridge’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
East Ridge City Library spends $12 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size, and its 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$78K) 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 →
60 community nonprofits are registered in East Ridge
2.7 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 (26 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.5%
5.5% of East Ridge’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.7% in the typical Tennessee 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 East Ridge’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
East Ridge City Library serves 21,961 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 38K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
1,007 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
About 1 kids’ program 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 East Ridge last year.
Find it
East Ridge City Library, 1517 Tombras Avenue, East Ridge.
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 $2.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Ridge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $255K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $566K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $255K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 8,985 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chattanooga | Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library | 5.9 | 50 | C |
| East Ridge | East Ridge City Library | 1.6 | 48 | D |
| Lakeview | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. East Ridge City Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 East Ridge
Does East Ridge have a public library?
Yes. East Ridge City Library, 1517 Tombras Avenue, serves East Ridge’s 21,961 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Ridge City Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is East Ridge’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is East Ridge’s civic life grade?
D East Ridge is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #130 of 150 in Tennessee. 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 East Ridge.
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.