Photo: Leoboudv · CC BY-SA 3.0At 3.4 visits per person served, Surrey Libraries is quieter than 76% of British Columbia’s town libraries
Surrey Libraries has 12 branches for the 703,615 people it serves. The figures come from British Columbia’s public library statistics for 2025, as the library filed them.
–Civic lifeNot gradedWhat a civic life grade would weigh in Surrey
Not graded: a city is graded through its neighbourhoods, each on its own figures.
Informal groups and mutual aid go uncounted.
Sources: provincial statistics, the CRA, Statistics Canada.
697 registered charities are based in Surrey, by mailing address
It works out to 1 per 1,000 residents, where the typical British Columbia town has 1.2 and Canada’s 1.4. Charities are placed by mailing address, which flatters service towns whose post office serves a region and undercounts suburbs and rural municipalities.
36.9%
Volunteering here is a provincial number: 36.9% of people across British Columbia in 2023, likely 35.2% to 38.7%, set in a ten-province range of 25.2% to 40.3%.
Statistics Canada, table 45-10-0039.
Behind most of British Columbia’s town libraries on all 2 measures
Measured per person served against the 32 town libraries of British Columbia’s 2025 statistics.
Town libraries only; regional systems left out.
About 6,587 visits a day
What Surrey Libraries counted in 2025, as the library reported it.
Surrey’s 12 public libraries
In order of distance from the centre of Surrey, as the crow flies.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Library locations. OpenStreetMap and Statistics Canada’s list of cultural facilities (2020), merged; school, college, hospital and private libraries are left out.
Questions about the library and civic life in Surrey
Does Surrey have a public library?
Yes, 12: SL: City Centre Branch, SL: Clayton Branch, SL: Cloverdale Branch, SL: Fleetwood Branch and 8 more.
How busy is Surrey Libraries?
It counted 2,404,116 in-person visits in 2025.
Library statistics: BC Public Libraries Statistics, 2025. Library locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Statistics Canada, Open Database of Cultural and Art Facilities (2020). Charities: Canada Revenue Agency, List of charities (2024), charitable organizations only.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).