Photo: Evanoco · CC BY-SA 4.0Saluda’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Saluda County Library System serves 18,862 people in and around Saluda. Last year it lent 22K print books and media and logged 13K visits.
Saluda’s library, in brief
Saluda County Library System is used less than most libraries its size
Saluda County Library System records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $17 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
South Carolina pays a big share
46% 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
Saluda County Library System offered 71 programs last year, 3.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 59% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 78% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. 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; Saluda County Library System serves 18,862 people in and around Saluda, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Saluda’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Saluda is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns, #98 of 102 in South Carolina. Saluda is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Saluda’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Saluda County Library System spends $17 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($32K–$53K) 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Saluda
2.0 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.7%
2.7% of Saluda’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 Saluda’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Saluda County Library System serves 18,862 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Saluda County Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
22K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
71 programs a year
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.
Find it
Saluda County Library, 101 S Main Street, Saluda.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Saluda County Library System branch.
New in Saluda? 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 $1.43 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Saluda cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $323K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $462K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $323K 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 9,572 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Saluda County Library System serves 18,862 people in and around Saluda, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Saluda.
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 Saluda
Does Saluda have a public library?
Yes. Saluda County Library System, 101 S Main Street, serves 18,862 people in and around Saluda (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Saluda County Library System 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 Saluda’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 1.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Saluda’s civic life grade?
D− Saluda is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns on civic life, #98 of 102 in South 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 Saluda.
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.