Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0Perry’s library is a branch of Houston County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 70% of systems its size
Perry’s library is the Perry Public Library, a branch of Houston County Public Library, which serves 174,694 people and lent 482K items last year.
Perry’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 100,000+ people, the Houston County Public Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Houston County Public Library system offered 656 programs last year, 3.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Georgia pays a big share
29% of the budget comes from the state, and 53% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 656 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 7.9 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; Perry’s library is a branch of Houston County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (174,694 people), not just the Perry branch.
What’s behind Perry’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Perry is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #109 of 222 in Georgia. Perry is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Perry’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Houston County Public Library spends $12 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($58K–$96K) 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 →
76 community nonprofits are registered in Perry
3.3 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 (44 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.0%
5.0% of Perry’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.9% in the typical Georgia 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 Perry’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Houston County Public Library serves 174,694 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 66 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Houston County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
482K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
104,639 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
About 9 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.
Find it
Perry Public Library, 1201 Washington Street, Perry.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Houston County Public Library branch.
New in Perry? 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 $3.38 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Perry cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 34,042 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perry | Perry Public Library | — | 46 | C− |
| Warner Robins | Nola Brantley Memorial Library | — | 46 | 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.
- System-wide. Perry Public Library is one branch of Houston County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 174,694 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 Perry
Does Perry have a public library?
Yes: Perry Public Library, 1201 Washington Street, is a branch of Houston County Public Library, which serves 174,694 people. The branch is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Houston County 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 Perry’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 2.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Perry’s civic life grade?
C− Perry is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #109 of 222 in Georgia. 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 Perry.
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.