Photo: Pejcharat · CC BY-SA 4.0Hampton’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Hampton Public Library serves Hampton’s 136,581 residents from 4 locations. Last year it lent 130K print books and media and logged 90K visits.
Hampton’s library, in brief
Hampton Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Hampton Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Hampton’s library lends 1 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Portsmouth at 12. Libraries next door ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 78% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 82% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people Hampton Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. 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.
What’s behind Hampton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hampton is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #284. Hampton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$87K) 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 →
514 community nonprofits are registered in Hampton
3.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (143 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 24 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.3%
4.3% of Hampton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.9% in the typical Virginia 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 Hampton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Hampton Public Library serves 136,581 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
130K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 135K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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 Hampton last year.
4 places to borrow in Hampton
Hampton Public Library, 4207 Victoria Blvd., Hampton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hampton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Hampton
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hampton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.7M 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 12,563 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hampton ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth Main Library fine-free | 12.3 | 46 | C− |
| Poquoson | Poquoson Public Library fine-free | 11.2 | 62 | B+ |
| Newport News | Main Street Library fine-free | 2.8 | 56 | D |
| Norfolk | Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch Library fine-free | 2.3 | 45 | C− |
| Hampton | Hampton Public Library fine-free | 1.0 | 56 | D |
| Bethel Manor | 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.
- 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 Hampton
Does Hampton have a public library?
Yes. Hampton Public Library, 4207 Victoria Blvd., serves Hampton’s 136,581 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hampton Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hampton’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 1.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Hampton’s civic life grade?
D Hampton is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Hampton.
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.