Photo: WmCheez · CC BY-SA 4.0El Paso’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
El Paso Public Library serves El Paso’s 678,958 residents from 15 locations. Last year it lent 1.4M books, movies and e-books and logged 712K visits.
What El Paso’s library is like
El Paso Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
El Paso Public Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $16 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
15 places to borrow in El Paso
El Paso Public Library runs 15 locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
Runs on less money than most
El Paso Public Library spends $16 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). 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.
What’s behind El Paso’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, El Paso is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns, #479 of 539 in Texas. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #361. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; El Paso’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
El Paso Public Library spends $16 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($45K–$75K) 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 →
1,215 community nonprofits are registered in El Paso
1.8 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 (465 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 70 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.3%
3.3% of El Paso’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.7% in the typical Texas 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 El Paso’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
El Paso Public Library serves 678,958 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 32 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.4M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 825K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
343,519 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 36 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 El Paso last year.
15 places to borrow in El Paso
El Paso Public Library, 501 N Oregon St., El Paso.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in El Paso? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in El Paso
And 2 more in El Paso.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.00 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average El Paso cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $11M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $21M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11M 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 205,522 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso | El Paso Public Library | 2.0 | 52 | D− |
| Sunland Park | Sunland Park Community Library fine-free | 0.3 | 45 | D− |
| Socorro | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Canutillo | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Fort Bliss | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Westway | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Chaparral | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Anthony | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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 El Paso
Does El Paso have a public library?
Yes. El Paso Public Library, 501 N Oregon St., serves El Paso’s 678,958 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is El Paso Public 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 El Paso’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is El Paso’s civic life grade?
D− El Paso is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns on civic life, #479 of 539 in Texas. 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 El Paso.
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.