Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture · Public domainBreaux Bridge’s library is a branch of St. Martin Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 91% of systems its size
Breaux Bridge’s library is the Breaux Bridge Branch, a branch of St. Martin Parish Library, which serves 51,218 people and lent 66K items last year.
What Breaux Bridge’s library is like
The St. Martin Parish Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The St. Martin Parish Library system records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Breaux Bridge’s library is a branch of St. Martin Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (51,218 people), not just the Breaux Bridge branch.
What’s behind Breaux Bridge’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Breaux Bridge is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns, #90 of 105 in Louisiana. Breaux Bridge 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.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($36K–$60K) 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Breaux Bridge
1.7 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.6%
5.6% of Breaux Bridge’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.9% in the typical Louisiana 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 Breaux Bridge’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
St. Martin Parish Library serves 51,218 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole St. Martin Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
66K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
20,523 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Breaux Bridge Branch, 205 North Main Street, Breaux Bridge.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every St. Martin Parish Library branch.
New in Breaux Bridge? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Breaux Bridge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 8,914 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Breaux Bridge Branch is one branch of St. Martin Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 51,218 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 Breaux Bridge
Does Breaux Bridge have a public library?
Yes: Breaux Bridge Branch, 205 North Main Street, is a branch of St. Martin Parish Library, which serves 51,218 people. The branch is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. Martin Parish 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 Breaux Bridge’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Breaux Bridge’s civic life grade?
D Breaux Bridge is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns on civic life, #90 of 105 in Louisiana. 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 Breaux Bridge.
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.