Photo: Zverzver · Public domainPort St. Lucie’s library is a branch of St. Lucie County Library System, which lends less per resident than 86% of systems its size
Port St. Lucie’s library is the Paula A. Lewis Branch, a branch of St. Lucie County Library System, which serves 385,605 people and lent 569K items last year.
The short version on Port St. Lucie’s library
The St. Lucie County Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The St. Lucie County Library System records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $17 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Four branches in Port St. Lucie
Port St. Lucie has four branches of the St. Lucie County Library System, which serves 385,605 people across the area. One card works at all of them, and at every other branch in the system. The buildings ↓
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; Port St. Lucie’s library is a branch of St. Lucie County Library System, so they cover the whole system (385,605 people), not just the Port St. Lucie branch.
What’s behind Port St. Lucie’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Port St. Lucie is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #191 of 273 in Florida. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #272. Port St. Lucie is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
St. Lucie County Library System spends $17 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($60K–$101K) 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 →
530 community nonprofits are registered in Port St. Lucie
2.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (228 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 48 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.8%
5.8% of Port St. Lucie’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.6% in the typical Florida 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 St. Lucie’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
St. Lucie County Library System serves 385,605 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole St. Lucie County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
569K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Port St. Lucie’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 23 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
4 places to borrow in Port St. Lucie
Paula A. Lewis Branch, 2950 Southwest Rosser Boulevard, Port St. Lucie.
No late fees. Good at every St. Lucie County Library System branch.
New in Port St. Lucie? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other St. Lucie County Library System branches in Port St. Lucie
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.54 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Port St. Lucie cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.6M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 134,687 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 St. Lucie | Paula A. Lewis Branch fine-free | — | 53 | D |
| Jensen Beach | Hoke Library | — | 37 | — unincorporated |
| Palm City | Cummings Library | — | 36 | — unincorporated |
| River Park | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| White City | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Indian River Estates | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Paula A. Lewis Branch is one branch of St. Lucie County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 385,605 people it serves.
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 St. Lucie
Does Port St. Lucie have a public library?
Yes: Paula A. Lewis Branch, 2950 Southwest Rosser Boulevard, is a branch of St. Lucie County Library System, which serves 385,605 people. The branch is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. Lucie County Library System fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Port St. Lucie’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Port St. Lucie’s civic life grade?
D Port St. Lucie is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life, #191 of 273 in Florida. 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 St. Lucie.
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.