Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Kaufman’s library runs 4.3 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Kaufman County Library serves Kaufman’s 27,956 residents. Last year it lent 45K print books and media and logged 52K visits.
Kaufman’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Kaufman County Library offered 120 programs last year, 4.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Kaufman County Library spends $14 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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 Kaufman’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Kaufman is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns, #435 of 539 in Texas. Kaufman is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Kaufman’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Kaufman County Library spends $14 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$79K) 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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in Kaufman
2.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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.
4.3%
4.3% of Kaufman’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 Kaufman’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Kaufman County Library serves 27,956 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
45K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 39K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Kaufman last year.
Find it
Kaufman County Library, 3790 S Houston St., Kaufman.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Kaufman? 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 $1.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kaufman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $395K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $676K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $395K 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 13,754 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.
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 Kaufman
Does Kaufman have a public library?
Yes. Kaufman County Library, 3790 S Houston St., serves Kaufman’s 27,956 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kaufman 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 Kaufman’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 1.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Kaufman’s civic life grade?
D Kaufman is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns on civic life, #435 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 Kaufman.
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.