Houston’s library lends 6.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Houston Public Library serves 3,126 people in and around Houston. Last year it lent 24K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
What Houston’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 58% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
30% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 70%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 155 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 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; Houston Public Library serves 3,126 people in and around Houston, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Houston’s civic life grade
Houston isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Houston Public Library serves 3,126 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Houston Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
24K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,832 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Houston Public Library, 202 East Cedar Street, Houston.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Houston Public Library branch.
New in Houston? 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 $4.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Houston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $88K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $384K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $88K 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 794 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | Houston Public Library fine-free | — | 31 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Houston Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Houston Public Library serves 3,126 people in and around Houston, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Houston.
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 Houston
Does Houston have a public library?
Yes. Houston Public Library, 202 East Cedar Street, serves 3,126 people in and around Houston (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Houston Public 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 Houston’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 7.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Houston’s civic life grade?
Houston isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Houston.
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.