Port Washington Downtown Historic District · Photo: Freekee · Public domainPort Washington’s library lends 7.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
W.J. Niederkorn Library serves Port Washington’s 16,933 residents. Last year it lent 155K books, movies and e-books and logged 86K visits.
What Port Washington’s library is like
Above typical on nearly every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, W.J. Niederkorn Library is above the middle on six of the seven per-resident measures we compare, and close to it on the other, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
W.J. Niederkorn Library is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out. The building ↓
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 Port Washington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Port Washington is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #56 of 358 in Wisconsin. Port Washington is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
60 community nonprofits are registered in Port Washington
4.8 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.
10.7%
10.7% of Port Washington’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 Port Washington’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
155K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 49K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.5 times last year, on average.
31,760 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
W.J. Niederkorn Library serves 16,933 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 3 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 Port Washington last year.
Find it
W.J. Niederkorn Library, 316 W. Grand Ave., Port Washington.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Port Washington? 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 $3.81 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Port Washington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $643K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $643K 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 6,264 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Washington | W.J. Niederkorn Library | 9.2 | 67 | A |
| Grafton | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- 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 Port Washington
Does Port Washington have a public library?
Yes. W.J. Niederkorn Library, 316 W. Grand Ave., serves Port Washington’s 16,933 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is W.J. Niederkorn 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 Port Washington’s library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 9.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Port Washington’s civic life grade?
A Port Washington is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #56 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 Port Washington.
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.