Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Hurley’s library runs 8.8 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Hurley Public Library serves 3,869 people in and around Hurley. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and drew 434 people to its programs.
The short version on Hurley’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Hurley Public Library offered 34 programs last year, 8.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Hurley 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; Hurley Public Library serves 3,869 people in and around Hurley, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hurley’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hurley is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Hurley is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hurley’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Hurley’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in Hurley
15.5 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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.7%
9.7% of Hurley’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 Hurley’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hurley Public Library serves 3,869 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hurley Public Library system. 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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,636 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
34 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Hurley Public Library, 405 5th Ave. N., Hurley.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hurley Public Library branch.
New in Hurley? 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 $4.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hurley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $56K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $274K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $56K 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 1,163 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurley | Hurley Public Library fine-free | — | 35 | A+ |
| Ironwood | Ironwood Carnegie Library fine-free | — | 31 | A− |
| Kimball | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Carey | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Montreal | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Oma | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Hurley Public Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- System-wide. Hurley Public Library serves 3,869 people in and around Hurley, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hurley.
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 Hurley
Does Hurley have a public library?
Yes. Hurley Public Library, 405 5th Ave. N., serves 3,869 people in and around Hurley (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hurley 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 Hurley’s library?
It lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 34 programs that drew 434 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Hurley’s civic life grade?
A+ Hurley is ahead of 96% 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 Hurley.
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.