Photo: Raymond Shobe · CC BY 2.0Washington’s library logs 2.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Washington County Library System serves 202,452 people in and around Washington. Last year it lent 1.6M books, movies and e-books and logged 572K visits.
The short version on Washington’s library
42% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 42% of loans, more per resident than at 83% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 58%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
73% of the people it serves carry a library card
148,091 cards for 202,452 people, or 73%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
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; Washington County Library System serves 202,452 people in and around Washington, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Washington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Washington is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #54 of 106 in Utah. Washington is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($69K–$115K) 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 →
68 community nonprofits are registered in Washington
2.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.1%
7.1% of Washington’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 Washington’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Washington County Library System serves 202,452 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 79 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Washington County Library System system. The library’s own count.
42% of borrowing is digital
1.6M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
670,667 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 31 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.
Find it
Washington County Library Washington City Branch, 220 N 300 E, Washington.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Washington County Library System branch.
New in Washington? 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 $5.16 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Washington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $24M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.7M 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 148,091 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Washington County Library Washington City Branch | — | 50 | C− |
| St. George | Washington County Library Headquarters | — | 53 | C |
| Hurricane | Washington County Library Hurricane Valley Br | — | 50 | — too few inputs |
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.
- System-wide. Washington County Library System serves 202,452 people in and around Washington, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Washington.
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 Washington
Does Washington have a public library?
Yes. Washington County Library System, 220 N 300 E, serves 202,452 people in and around Washington (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Washington County Library System 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 Washington’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 7.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Washington’s civic life grade?
C− Washington is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #54 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 Washington.
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.