Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0West Allis’ library logs 4.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
West Allis Public Library serves West Allis’s 63,183 residents. Last year it lent 427K books, movies and e-books and logged 305K visits.
What stands out about West Allis’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind West Allis’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, West Allis is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #171 of 358 in Wisconsin. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; West Allis’ count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
185 community nonprofits are registered in West Allis
3.1 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 (48 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.4%
9.4% of West Allis’ 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 West Allis’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 131 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
West Allis Public Library serves 63,183 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
427K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 203K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
64,978 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 West Allis last year.
Find it
West Allis Public Library, 7421 W. National Ave., West Allis.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in West Allis? 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 $3.50 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Allis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.9M 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 12,516 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
West Allis ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookfield | Brookfield Public Library | 14.4 | 66 | A− |
| New Berlin | New Berlin Public Library | 10.9 | 66 | B+ |
| Greenfield | Greenfield Public Library | 7.0 | 65 | C |
| West Allis | West Allis Public Library | 6.8 | 63 | B+ |
| Milwaukee | Milwaukee Public Library | 2.8 | 56 | C+ |
| West Milwaukee | 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 West Allis
Does West Allis have a public library?
Yes. West Allis Public Library, 7421 W. National Ave., serves West Allis’ 63,183 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Allis 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 West Allis’ library?
It logged 4.8 visits and lent 6.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is West Allis’ civic life grade?
B+ West Allis is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #171 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 West Allis.
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.