Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Chilton’s library runs 11 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Chilton Public Library serves Chilton’s 21,165 residents. Last year it lent 66K books, movies and e-books and logged 51K visits.
Chilton’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Chilton Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people Chilton Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Chilton Public Library spends $14 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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 Chilton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chilton is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #60 of 358 in Wisconsin. Chilton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Chilton’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
44 community nonprofits are registered in Chilton
10.9 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.8%
7.8% of Chilton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Wisconsin 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 Chilton’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Chilton Public Library serves 21,165 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
66K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 35K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
12,323 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Chilton last year.
Find it
Chilton Public Library, 221 Park St., Chilton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Chilton? 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 $3.66 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chilton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $290K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $290K 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 2,530 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chilton | Chilton Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 51 | A |
| Charlestown | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Chilton
Does Chilton have a public library?
Yes. Chilton Public Library, 221 Park St., serves Chilton’s 21,165 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chilton 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 Chilton’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Chilton’s civic life grade?
A Chilton is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #60 of 358 in Wisconsin. 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 Chilton.
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.