Photo: Awkwafaba · CC BY-SA 3.0Pewaukee’s library lends 9.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Pewaukee Public Library serves Pewaukee’s 28,385 residents. Last year it lent 317K books, movies and e-books and logged 54K visits.
The short version on Pewaukee’s library
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 67%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 85 items per child in Pewaukee 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 Pewaukee’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pewaukee is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #57 of 358 in Wisconsin. Pewaukee is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Pewaukee’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 →
47 community nonprofits are registered in Pewaukee
5.7 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.4%
9.4% of Pewaukee’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 Pewaukee’s residents live; 2022.
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 Pewaukee last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Pewaukee Public Library serves 28,385 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 105 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
317K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 102K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year, on average.
55,324 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Pewaukee Public Library, 210 Main St., Pewaukee.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Pewaukee? 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 $3.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pewaukee cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 10,286 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Pewaukee
Does Pewaukee have a public library?
Yes. Pewaukee Public Library, 210 Main St., serves Pewaukee’s 28,385 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pewaukee Public 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 Pewaukee’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 11.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Pewaukee’s civic life grade?
A Pewaukee is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #57 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 Pewaukee.
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.