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McCormick, SCPhoto: Evanoco · CC BY 4.0
Mccormick County Library System

McCormick’s library runs 6.6 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size

Mccormick County Library System serves 9,526 people in and around McCormick. Last year it lent 39K books, movies and e-books and logged 28K visits.

201 Railroad Ave., Mccormick 29835 · about 45 hours a week
DCivic lifeAhead of 9% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (864) 852-2821 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
39K
4.1 per resident
Visits a year
28K
3 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
63
about 1 a week · 1,370 attended
Cardholders
10%
918 cards
Open
45 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What McCormick’s library is like

South Carolina pays a big share

47% of the budget comes from the state, and 50% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Mccormick County Library System offered 63 programs last year, 6.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 10% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓

Most programs are for young children

73% of the 63 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 46 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

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; Mccormick County Library System serves 9,526 people in and around McCormick, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind McCormick’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, McCormick is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns. McCormick is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; McCormick’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.

D
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of McCormick’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC+Community nonprofits3.1 per 1,000 residents · SC towns 3.1 · U.S. 3.7D−Volunteering2.3% of adults 25–44 · SC towns 4.4% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 9%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $31K–$51K (2,277)Ahead of 15%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($31K–$51K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. McCormick is small (2,010 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

8 community nonprofits are registered in McCormick

3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.36 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.44 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.68 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.68 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.52 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.36 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

2.3%

2.3% of McCormick’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical South 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 McCormick’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3 visits · typical 3Lower than 51%
Borrowing per resident 2.5 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 69%
Digital borrowing 1.6 e-items · typical 1Higher than 67%
Kids’ borrowing 0.3 kids’ items · typical 1.6Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 84%
Programs offered 6.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 89%
Cardholders 10% of residents · typical 42%Bottom 10%
Spending $35 per resident · typical $43Lower than 62%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Mccormick County Library System serves 9,526 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mccormick County Library System system. The library’s own count.

28K
visits
3 per resident
39K
loans, print + digital
4.1 per resident
63
programs & events
1,370 attended
918
library cards
10% of people served
Every open hour17items borrowed
Every week26people at a program
Every day117Wi-Fi sessions
4 staff (full-time equivalent)13 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

39K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

39Kloans
Books & media (adults) 55%Kids’ books & media 7%E-books, audio & streaming 38%
From your couch

14,859 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

63 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in McCormick →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–546
Ages 6–110
Teens0
Adults10
All ages7
Little ones
0.9

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

2,837
kids’ books & media borrowed
1,370
people at programs
63
programs
The building

Find it

Mccormick County Library, 201 Railroad Ave., Mccormick.

Directions(864) 852-2821
45
hours open a week
8,400
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mccormick County Library System branch.

New in McCormick? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.27 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average McCormick cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
2
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
4
Your card saves you about
$732
a year at retail prices · $61 a month

Who pays for it
$35 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $334K.

Local taxes 50%State 47%Federal 1%Gifts & other 2%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $760K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $334K 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 918 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Mccormick County Library System serves 9,526 people in and around McCormick, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just McCormick.

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 McCormick

Does McCormick have a public library?

Yes. Mccormick County Library System, 201 Railroad Ave., serves 9,526 people in and around McCormick (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Mccormick County Library System 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 McCormick’s library?

It logged 3.0 visits and lent 4.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is McCormick’s civic life grade?

D McCormick is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 McCormick.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.