Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Hobbs’ library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Hobbs Public Library serves Hobbs’s 40,508 residents. Last year it lent 78K books, movies and e-books and logged 41K visits.
Hobbs’s library, in brief
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 271 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Hobbs Public Library holds 162,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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.
What’s behind Hobbs’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hobbs is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns, #40 of 46 in New Mexico. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Hobbs’ count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($48K–$80K) 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 →
100 community nonprofits are registered in Hobbs
2.5 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 (54 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.2%
5.2% of Hobbs’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.2% in the typical New Mexico 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 Hobbs’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Hobbs Public Library serves 40,508 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 32 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
78K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 162K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
7,262 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Hobbs last year.
Find it
Hobbs Public Library, 509 N. Shipp, Hobbs.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hobbs? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hobbs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 24,644 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobbs | Hobbs Public Library fine-free | 1.9 | 47 | D |
| North Hobbs | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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 Hobbs
Does Hobbs have a public library?
Yes. Hobbs Public Library, 509 N. Shipp, serves Hobbs’ 40,508 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hobbs 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 Hobbs’ library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Hobbs’ civic life grade?
D Hobbs is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns on civic life, #40 of 46 in New Mexico. 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 Hobbs.
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.