Photo: Andy K. Nelson · Public domainBrigham City’s library lends 7.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Brigham City Library serves Brigham City’s 19,970 residents. Last year it lent 217K books, movies and e-books and logged 72K visits.
The short version on Brigham City’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 16 items per child in Brigham City last year. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Brigham City Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984. Today’s library there has 12,000 square feet. The building ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. It’s 34% of all loans. 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 Brigham City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Brigham City is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #48 of 106 in Utah. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($53K–$89K) 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 →
53 community nonprofits are registered in Brigham City
2.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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.
5.1%
5.1% of Brigham City’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.2% in the typical Utah 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 Brigham City’s residents live; 2022.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
217K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year, on average.
74,134 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Brigham City Library serves 19,970 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 75 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 4 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 Brigham City last year.
A National Register landmark since 1984
Brigham City Library, 26 East Forest Street, Brigham City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Brigham City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Brigham City Carnegie Library
Brigham City Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct 25, 1984. It is significant for its education at the state level. Its architecture is described as Prairie School. It was listed as part of Carnegie Library TR.
The Brigham City Carnegie Library, at 26 E. Forest St. in Brigham City in Box Elder County, Utah, dates from 1915. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.69 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brigham City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $877K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $877K 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 10,201 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brigham City | Brigham City Library | 10.9 | 56 | C− |
| Perry | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Brigham City
Does Brigham City have a public library?
Yes. Brigham City Library, 26 East Forest Street, serves Brigham City’s 19,970 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brigham 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 Brigham City’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 10.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Brigham City’s civic life grade?
C− Brigham City is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on civic life, #48 of 106 in Utah. 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 Brigham City.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.