LaGrange Historic District · Photo: Tradewinds · CC BY-SA 3.0La Grange’s library is a branch of Neuse Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 80% of systems its size
La Grange’s library is the La Grange Branch Library, a branch of Neuse Regional Library, which serves 83,327 people and lent 186K items last year.
The short version on La Grange’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Neuse Regional Library system ran 3,493 programs last year, about 67 a week. That’s 42 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 69,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 66% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 69% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Federal money pays a real share
4% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 57% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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; La Grange’s library is a branch of Neuse Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (83,327 people), not just the La Grange branch.
What’s behind La Grange’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, La Grange is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #221 of 234 in North Carolina. La Grange is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; La Grange’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in La Grange
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.4%
4.4% of La Grange’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 La Grange’s residents live; 2022.
About 34 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 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Neuse Regional Library serves 83,327 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Neuse Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
186K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
61,440 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
La Grange Branch Library, 119 E Washington St., La Grange.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Neuse Regional Library branch.
New in La Grange? 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 $2.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average La Grange cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M 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 38,556 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. La Grange Branch Library is one branch of Neuse Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 83,327 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 La Grange
Does La Grange have a public library?
Yes: La Grange Branch Library, 119 E Washington St., is a branch of Neuse Regional Library, which serves 83,327 people. The branch is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Neuse Regional 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 La Grange’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 2.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is La Grange’s civic life grade?
D− La Grange is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #221 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 La Grange.
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.