#1Taos
Taos County · 6,526 peopleVisits per resident a year·Taos Public Library, FY 2024
Taos, #1 on this list · Photo: Zeality · CC BY 2.5New Mexico rankings · Libraries
Towns with the most-used libraries in New Mexico
Taos has the most-used library of New Mexico’s 36 towns of 2,500+ with a library of their own: 13.3 visits per resident a year at Taos Public Library (IMLS Public Libraries Survey). The typical library here counts 3.2.
IMLS Public Libraries Survey: a year’s visits divided by the people the library serves. Only a library that serves one town (80–125% of its population) and reported its own count is ranked; IMLS estimates never are. A described list: no letters. How grades work
#113.3visits
#2Ruidoso
Lincoln County · 7,580 peopleVisits per resident a year·Ruidoso Public Library, FY 2024
#3Belen
Valencia County · 7,589 peopleVisits per resident a year·Belen Public Library, FY 2024
All 36 towns
Visits per resident, highest first.
36 towns ranked. Not here? See why a town may be missing.
#TownVisits per residentPeople servedLibrary
17Truth or ConsequencesSierra County · 5,949 people6,052Truth Or Consequences Public LibraryIMLS, FY 2024
Quick answers
Questions people ask
Which New Mexico town has the most-used library?
Taos (Taos County): Taos Public Library counts 13.3 visits per resident a year. Ruidoso (11.9) and Belen (7.2) follow.
How are these towns ranked?
By library visits per resident in the IMLS Public Libraries Survey: the visits a town’s own library reported, divided by the population it serves, highest first. It is the same rank as on each town’s Library & civic life page. How grades work.
Why isn’t my town on this list?
The list covers towns of 2,500+ with a library of their own that reported its visits (36 in New Mexico). Towns served by a county or regional system share its figure and aren’t ranked one by one; figures IMLS estimated for a library that didn’t report aren’t ranked; in states with strong townships the township, not a village inside it, is ranked. Every town is on the New Mexico page.
Go deeper
All New Mexico rankings →More New Mexico lists
Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.
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