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Naches, Washington 01Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0
Naches Library · part of Yakima Valley Regional Library

Naches’ library is a branch of Yakima Valley Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 72% of systems its size

Naches’s library is the Naches Library, a branch of Yakima Valley Regional Library, which serves 251,520 people and lent 859K items last year.

303 Naches Ave, Naches 98937 · about 25 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 81% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (509) 653-2005 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
859K
3.4 per resident
Visits a year
410K
1.6 per resident · Below typical (2.1)
Programs & events
4,113
about 79 a week · 65K attended
Cardholders
17%
42,482 cards
Open
25 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Naches’s library

Programs are almost all for children

84% of the 4,113 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 12 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 17% of the people the system 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; Naches’s library is a branch of Yakima Valley Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (251,520 people), not just the Naches branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Naches’ civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Naches is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. Naches is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Naches’ count of community nonprofits ranks highest.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Naches’ overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA−Community nonprofits5.6 per 1,000 residents · WA towns 4.0 · U.S. 3.7B+Volunteering8.8% of adults 25–44 · WA towns 7.7% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 81%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $41K–$68K (6,191)Ahead of 78%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Naches is small (1,083 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

6 community nonprofits are registered in Naches

5.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation21.42 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans11.13 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.66 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.94 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.47 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.94 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

8.8%

8.8% of Naches’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.7% in the typical Washington 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 Naches’ residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.6 visits · typical 2.1Lower than 69%
Borrowing per resident 2.1 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 72%
Digital borrowing 1.3 e-items · typical 1.4Lower than 52%
Kids’ borrowing 1.1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 70%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 61%
Programs offered 16.4 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 82%
Cardholders 17% of residents · typical 41%Bottom 10%
Spending $32 per resident · typical $36Lower than 55%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Yakima Valley Regional Library serves 251,520 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Yakima Valley Regional Library system. The library’s own count.

410K
visits
1.6 per resident
859K
loans, print + digital
3.4 per resident
4,113
programs & events
65K attended
42K
library cards
17% of people served
Every open hour30items borrowed
Every week1,251people at a program
Every day56Wi-Fi sessions
78 staff (full-time equivalent)123 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

859K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

859Kloans
Books & media (adults) 30%Kids’ books & media 31%E-books, audio & streaming 39%
From your couch

333,993 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 66 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Naches →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5642
Ages 6–112,797
Teens73
Adults193
All ages408
Little ones
12.3

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

264K
kids’ books & media borrowed
65K
people at programs
4,113
programs
The building

Find it

Naches Library, 303 Naches Ave, Naches.

Directions(509) 653-2005
25
hours open a week
918
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Yakima Valley Regional Library branch.

New in Naches? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.64 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Naches cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$528
a year at retail prices · $44 a month

Who pays for it
$32 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.1M.

Local taxes 94%State 0%Federal 0%Gifts & other 6%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $13M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.1M 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 42,482 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Naches Library is one branch of Yakima Valley Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 251,520 people it serves.

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 Naches

Does Naches have a public library?

Yes: Naches Library, 303 Naches Ave, is a branch of Yakima Valley Regional Library, which serves 251,520 people. The branch is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Yakima Valley Regional 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 Naches’ library?

It logged 1.6 visits and lent 3.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Naches’ civic life grade?

A− Naches is ahead of 81% 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 Naches.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.