librarysystems

Public library systems in Texas

503 profiled systems809 library buildings20 bookmobilesFY 2024

The 503 profiled public library systems in Texas served 26.4 million residents in FY 2024 and logged 1.75 visits and 2.99 physical checkouts per resident, which ranks 47th and 41st among the 50 states and DC. Operating spending came to $26.04 per resident (47th nationally). Local government supplied 96% of operating revenue, against 85% for all profiled systems nationwide, and the state government 0%.

The largest system is Houston Public Library, serving 2,314,157 residents; 50 systems serve 100,000 or more. At the end of the year, 33% of the state's profiled systems charged no overdue fines on print items. The most common legal form is the municipal library (299 systems).

Compare libraries in Texas

Visits per resident, system by system

Each dot is one Texas system, grouped by the size of the population it serves; darker dots have their own profile page. The gold tick marks the national median for that size class.

0.250.5124816321 million+500k–1m250k–500k100k–250k50k–100k25k–50k10k–25k5k–10k2.5k–5k1k–2.5kunder 1kvisits per resident (log scale)
0.5124816321 million+500k–1m250k–500k100k–250k50k–100k25k–50k10k–25k5k–10k2.5k–5k1k–2.5kunder 1kvisits per resident (log scale)

The 20 largest systems

SystemCityResidentsVisits per residentCheckouts per residentSpending per resident
Houston Public LibraryHouston2,314,1570.921.41$21.39
Harris County Public LibraryHouston2,281,1731.113.58$16.75
San Antonio Public LibrarySan Antonio1,868,0521.462.68$28.29
Dallas Public LibraryDallas1,302,8680.363.01$32.59
Austin Public LibraryAustin979,8823.043.97$71.58
Fort Bend County LibrariesRichmond873,8161.973.56$26.25
Montgomery County Memorial Library SystemConroe705,1261.123.44$16.91
El Paso Public LibraryEl Paso678,9581.051.50$15.67
Brazoria County Library SystemAngleton398,9381.863.60$23.35
Arlington Public Library SystemArlington398,4311.873.01$25.83
Corpus Christi Public LibrariesCorpus Christi316,5951.682.32$20.21
Lubbock Public LibraryLubbock299,1671.151.86$13.85
Plano Public Library SystemPlano290,1905.968.58$53.97
Brownsville Public LibraryBrownsville259,7142.310.63$15.87
Laredo Public LibraryLaredo257,6021.170.82$18.74
Irving Public LibraryIrving254,3731.834.35$29.10
Nicholson Memorial Library SystemGarland243,4701.091.41$24.65
Frisco Public LibraryFrisco225,0075.1713.03$31.53
Waco-McLennan County LibraryWaco224,1161.352.67$24.28
McAllen Public LibraryMcAllen219,1482.151.78$23.92

Highest rates among systems serving 5,000 or more

Of the state's profiled systems, 360 serve at least 5,000 residents.

Visits per resident

  1. Roanoke Public Library · 11.19
  2. Lillie Russell Memorial Library · 10.83
  3. Bee Cave Public Library · 8.35
  4. Gonzales Public Library · 7.94
  5. Westbank Community Library District · 7.26

Checkouts per resident

  1. Roanoke Public Library · 14.27
  2. Frisco Public Library · 13.03
  3. Azle Memorial Library · 12.76
  4. Westbank Community Library District · 12.16
  5. Cedar Park Public Library · 11.85

Spending per resident

  1. Westbank Community Library District · $140.97
  2. Bee Cave Public Library · $129.23
  3. Highland Park Library · $104.54
  4. Livingston Municipal Library · $92.21
  5. Rosenberg Library · $90.23

Revenue mix

Combined operating revenue of $715 million across the 503 systems that reported every revenue source.

Texas96%All profiled systems, US85%
Texas96%All profiled systems, US85%
  • Local government
  • State
  • Federal
  • Other

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