Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0Hempstead’s library lends 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Waller County Library serves 63,553 people in and around Hempstead. Last year it lent 33K books, movies and e-books and drew 7,101 people to its programs.
The short version on Hempstead’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Waller County Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Waller County Library offered 257 programs last year, 4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Waller County Library spends $8 per resident, less than 97% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 257 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 a week 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; Waller County Library serves 63,553 people in and around Hempstead, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hempstead’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hempstead is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #254 of 539 in Texas. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Hempstead is graded on two of the three inputs. Hempstead’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
The survey’s stand-in for Hempstead’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Hempstead
4.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.1%
5.1% of Hempstead’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 Hempstead’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Waller County Library serves 63,553 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Waller County Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
33K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,873 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
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
Waller County Library, 2331 11th St., Hempstead.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Waller County Library branch.
New in Hempstead? 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 $1.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hempstead cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $516K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $603K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $516K 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 14,929 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Waller County Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- System-wide. Waller County Library serves 63,553 people in and around Hempstead, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hempstead.
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 Hempstead
Does Hempstead have a public library?
Yes. Waller County Library, 2331 11th St., serves 63,553 people in and around Hempstead (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Waller County 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 Hempstead’s library?
It lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 257 programs that drew 7,101 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Hempstead’s civic life grade?
C Hempstead is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on civic life, #254 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 Hempstead.
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.