John H. Adams House · Photo: Lorenzo S. Winslow · Public domainHigh Point’s library runs 32 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
High Point Public Library serves High Point’s 117,206 residents. Last year it lent 786K books, movies and e-books and logged 208K visits.
What High Point’s library is like
More library cards than residents
169,442 cards for 117,206 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
High Point Public Library ran 3,704 programs last year, about 71 a week. That’s 32 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 99,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 66 hours a week
High Point Public Library is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 225 items go out. The building ↓
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.
What’s behind High Point’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, High Point is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #169 of 234 in North Carolina. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #266. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; High Point’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($48K–$81K) 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 →
394 community nonprofits are registered in High Point
3.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (170 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 25 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.8%
3.8% of High Point’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 High Point’s residents live; 2022.
About 43 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in High Point last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
High Point Public Library serves 117,206 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 225 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
786K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 247K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.3 times last year, on average.
211,486 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
High Point Public Library, 901 N Main St., High Point.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in High Point? 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 $2.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average High Point cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $5.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $13M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.6M 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 169,442 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Point | High Point Public Library fine-free | 6.7 | 66 | D |
| Greensboro | Greensboro Public Library fine-free | — | 80 | C |
| Archdale | Archdale Public Library fine-free | — | 57 | D− |
| Thomasville | Thomasville Public Library | — | 58 | C− |
| Jamestown | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 High Point
Does High Point have a public library?
Yes. High Point Public Library, 901 N Main St., serves High Point’s 117,206 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is High Point 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 High Point’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 6.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is High Point’s civic life grade?
D High Point is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on civic life, #169 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 High Point.
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.