Photo: Kbh3rd · CC BY 4.0Houston’s library is a branch of Texas County Library, which lends less per resident than 94% of systems its size
Houston’s library is the Houston Branch, a branch of Texas County Library, which serves 24,487 people and lent 36K items last year.
What Houston’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
100% of the 408 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, the Texas County Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
47% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 47% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
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’s library is a branch of Texas County Library, so they cover the whole system (24,487 people), not just the Houston branch.
What’s behind Houston’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Houston is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns. Houston is graded on two of the three inputs. Houston’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Houston
4.7 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% of Houston’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.3% in the typical Missouri 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 Houston’s residents live; 2022.
47% of borrowing is digital
36K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
17,033 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Texas County Library serves 24,487 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Texas County Library system. The library’s own count.
About 8 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
Houston Branch, 117 W Walnut St., Houston.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Texas County 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 $1.73 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 $370K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $639K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $370K 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 7,439 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Houston Branch is one branch of Texas County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 24,487 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 Houston
Does Houston have a public library?
Yes: Houston Branch, 117 W Walnut St., is a branch of Texas County Library, which serves 24,487 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Texas County 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 Houston’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Houston’s civic life grade?
B Houston is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 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.