Harker Heights’ library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Stewart C Meyer Library serves Harker Heights’s 34,447 residents. Last year it lent 173K books, movies and e-books and logged 60K visits.
Harker Heights’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
67,786 cards for 34,447 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
30,000 people came to the library’s 644 programs last year: 0.9 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 52% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
42% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 42% of loans, more per resident than at 74% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 58%, much of it kids’ books. 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 Harker Heights’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Harker Heights is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #410 of 539 in Texas. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Harker Heights’ count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($61K–$101K) 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 →
77 community nonprofits are registered in Harker Heights
2.3 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 (34 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.3%
5.3% of Harker Heights’ 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 Harker Heights’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Stewart C Meyer Library serves 34,447 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 58 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
42% of borrowing is digital
173K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 65K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
72,615 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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 Harker Heights last year.
Find it
Stewart C Meyer Library, 400 Indian Trl, Harker Heights.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Harker Heights? 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 $3.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Harker Heights cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $840K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $840K 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 67,786 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harker Heights | Stewart C Meyer Library | 5.0 | 58 | D |
| Killeen | Killeen Public Library | 1.1 | 52 | D− |
| Nolanville | 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 Harker Heights
Does Harker Heights have a public library?
Yes. Stewart C Meyer Library, 400 Indian Trl, serves Harker Heights’ 34,447 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stewart C Meyer 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 Harker Heights’ library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 5.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Harker Heights’ civic life grade?
D Harker Heights is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #410 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 Harker Heights.
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.