Carpenter Historic District · Photo: KimWrenn · CC BY-SA 3.0Cary’s library is a branch of Wake County Public Libraries, which lends more per resident than 86% of systems its size
Cary’s library is the West Regional Library, a branch of Wake County Public Libraries, which serves 1,194,900 people and lent 12M items last year.
What Cary’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 68% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 10,552 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 128 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 68 hours a week
The Cary branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
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; Cary’s library is a branch of Wake County Public Libraries, so they cover the whole system (1,194,900 people), not just the Cary branch.
What’s behind Cary’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cary is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #33 of 234 in North Carolina. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #74. Cary is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Cary’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
721 community nonprofits are registered in Cary
4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (130 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 47 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.7%
7.7% of Cary’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.2% in the typical North Carolina 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 Cary’s residents live; 2022.
About 165 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 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Wake County Public Libraries serves 1,194,900 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 155 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Wake County Public Libraries system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
12M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,950,564 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
3 places to borrow in Cary
West Regional Library, 4000 Louis Stephens Dr, Cary.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Wake County Public Libraries branch.
New in Cary? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Wake County Public Libraries branches in Cary
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cary cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $35M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $174M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $35M 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 406,348 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cary | West Regional Library fine-free | — | 68 | B |
| Morrisville | Morrisville Community Library fine-free | — | 68 | B− |
| Raleigh | Oberlin Regional Library fine-free | — | 68 | B− |
| Apex | Eva Perry Regional Library fine-free | — | 67 | B− |
| Durham | Durham County Main Library fine-free | — | 59 | C+ |
| Holly Springs | Holly Springs Community Library fine-free | — | 68 | 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. West Regional Library is one branch of Wake County Public Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 1,194,900 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 Cary
Does Cary have a public library?
Yes: West Regional Library, 4000 Louis Stephens Dr, is a branch of Wake County Public Libraries, which serves 1,194,900 people. The branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wake County Public Libraries 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 Cary’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 9.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Cary’s civic life grade?
B Cary is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on civic life, #33 of 234 in North Carolina. 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 Cary.
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.