South Milwaukee Post Office · Photo: Freekee · Public domainSouth Milwaukee’s library lends 5.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
South Milwaukee Public Library serves South Milwaukee’s 20,494 residents. Last year it lent 140K books, movies and e-books and logged 57K visits.
What South Milwaukee’s library is like
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 382 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.1 a week for ages 0–5. 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 South Milwaukee’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South Milwaukee is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #241 of 358 in Wisconsin. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; South Milwaukee’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($55K–$92K) 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 →
55 community nonprofits are registered in South Milwaukee
2.7 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.4%
9.4% of South Milwaukee’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 South Milwaukee’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
South Milwaukee Public Library serves 20,494 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 61 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
140K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 75K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
24,718 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 South Milwaukee last year.
Find it
South Milwaukee Public Library, 1907 10th Ave., South Milwaukee.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Milwaukee? 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 South Milwaukee cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $648K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $648K 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 4,899 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Milwaukee ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
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 South Milwaukee
Does South Milwaukee have a public library?
Yes. South Milwaukee Public Library, 1907 10th Ave., serves South Milwaukee’s 20,494 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Milwaukee 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 South Milwaukee’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 6.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is South Milwaukee’s civic life grade?
C+ South Milwaukee is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on civic life, #241 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 South Milwaukee.
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.