Photo: Kelseyneth · CC BY-SA 4.0Lenexa’s library is a branch of Johnson County Library, which lends more per resident than 96% of systems its size
Lenexa’s library is the Lenexa City Center, a branch of Johnson County Library, which serves 474,776 people and lent 6.9M items last year.
Lenexa’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Johnson County Library system logs 3.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 51% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Johnson County Library system offered 1,689 programs last year, 3.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 1,689 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 22 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Johnson County Library system spends $114 per resident a year, about three times the typical $36 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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; Lenexa’s library is a branch of Johnson County Library, so they cover the whole system (474,776 people), not just the Lenexa branch.
What’s behind Lenexa’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lenexa is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #78 of 149 in Kansas. Lenexa is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Lenexa’s 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 →
186 community nonprofits are registered in Lenexa
3.2 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 (46 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 14 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.1%
9.1% of Lenexa’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.7% in the typical Kansas 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 Lenexa’s residents live; 2022.
About 25 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Johnson County Library serves 474,776 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 169 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Johnson County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
6.9M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,714,364 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Lenexa City Center, 8778 Penrose Lane, Lenexa.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Johnson County Library branch.
New in Lenexa? 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 $1.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lenexa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $54M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $102M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $54M 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 223,721 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olathe | Olathe Downtown Library fine-free | 11.1 | 64 | B− |
| Lenexa | Lenexa City Center fine-free | — | 65 | B |
| Shawnee | Monticello Library fine-free | — | 65 | B− |
| Overland Park | Johnson County Library fine-free | — | 65 | B− |
| De Soto | De Soto Library fine-free | — | 35 | B |
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. Lenexa City Center is one branch of Johnson County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 474,776 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 Lenexa
Does Lenexa have a public library?
Yes: Lenexa City Center, 8778 Penrose Lane, is a branch of Johnson County Library, which serves 474,776 people. The branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Johnson County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lenexa’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 14.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Lenexa’s civic life grade?
B Lenexa is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on civic life, #78 of 149 in Kansas. 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 Lenexa.
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.