Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Cudahy’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Cudahy Family Library serves Cudahy’s 17,924 residents. Last year it lent 214K books, movies and e-books and drew 13K people to its programs.
Cudahy’s library, in brief
Wisconsin pays a big share
22% of the budget comes from the state, and 73% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 39% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Cudahy last year. Kids & programs ↓
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 Cudahy’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cudahy is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #242 of 358 in Wisconsin. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Cudahy is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Cudahy’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
The survey’s stand-in for Cudahy’s 2024 visits carries forward a 2022 figure, so it is left out.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) 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 →
30 community nonprofits are registered in Cudahy
1.7 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.5%
10.5% of Cudahy’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 Cudahy’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
214K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 145K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
20,888 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Cudahy Family Library serves 17,924 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 73 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
About 4 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 Cudahy last year.
Find it
Cudahy Family Library, 3500 Library Dr., Cudahy.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Cudahy? 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 $3.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cudahy cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $943K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $943K 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 5,251 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Cudahy ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Francis | St. Francis Public Library | 12.8 | 55 | A− |
| Cudahy | Cudahy Family Library | 11.9 | 56 | C+ |
| Oak Creek | Oak Creek Public Library | 7.7 | 60 | C+ |
| South Milwaukee | South Milwaukee Public Library | 6.8 | 44 | C+ |
| Milwaukee | Milwaukee Public Library | 2.8 | 56 | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Cudahy Family Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate carries forward its 2022 figure, so we leave it out and never rank it.
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 Cudahy
Does Cudahy have a public library?
Yes. Cudahy Family Library, 3500 Library Dr., serves Cudahy’s 17,924 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cudahy Family Library 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 Cudahy’s library?
It lent 11.9 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 390 programs that drew 12,747 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Cudahy’s civic life grade?
C+ Cudahy is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on civic life, #242 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 Cudahy.
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.