Photo: Sharonaz39 · CC BY-SA 3.0Milton’s library runs 30 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Milton Public serves Milton’s 10,723 residents. Last year it lent 41K print books and media and logged 34K visits.
What stands out about Milton’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Milton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Milton is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #64 of 71 in Vermont. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($89K–$149K) 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Milton
3.3 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.7%
6.7% of Milton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.5% in the typical Vermont 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 Milton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Milton Public serves 10,723 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
41K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Milton’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 36K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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.
Find it
Milton Public, 39 Bombardier Rd., Milton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Milton? 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 $2.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Milton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $301K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $773K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $301K 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 2,228 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Milton ranks 6th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Hero | Worthen Library fine-free | 8.6 | 37 | A |
| Westford | Westford Public fine-free | 7.3 | 34 | A− |
| Fairfax | Fairfax Community fine-free | 7.1 | 45 | C |
| Colchester | Burnham Memorial fine-free | 5.3 | 47 | B− |
| Georgia | Georgia Public fine-free | 4.7 | 38 | C |
| Milton | Milton Public fine-free | 3.8 | 43 | C |
| Grand Isle | Grand Isle Free Library fine-free | 2.3 | 26 | C |
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. Vermont libraries often don’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 Milton
Does Milton have a public library?
Yes. Milton Public, 39 Bombardier Rd., serves Milton’s 10,723 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Milton Public 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 Milton’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 3.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Milton’s civic life grade?
C Milton is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on civic life, #64 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Milton.
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.