Photo: Rick Ray · CC BY 2.0McKinney’s library lends 6.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Mckinney Public Library System serves McKinney’s 213,509 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 1.8M books, movies and e-books and logged 524K visits.
McKinney’s library, in brief
Busy on a lean budget
Mckinney Public Library System spends $21 per resident, less than 78% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). It’s still borrowed from more than 73% of them. What your card is worth ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 73% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 19 items per child in McKinney last year. Kids & programs ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 199,000 items on the shelves went out about 7.4 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Open about 70 hours a week
The main library is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 257 items go out. The buildings ↓
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 McKinney’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, McKinney is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #244 of 539 in Texas. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #171. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($93K–$155K) 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 →
670 community nonprofits are registered in McKinney
3.2 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 (216 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 58 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.0%
7.0% of McKinney’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 McKinney’s residents live; 2022.
About 12 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 McKinney last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Mckinney Public Library System serves 213,509 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 257 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 199K books and other items on the shelves went out about 7.4 times last year, on average.
332,668 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in McKinney
Mckinney Public Library System, 101 E Hunt St., Mckinney.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in McKinney? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in McKinney
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $5.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average McKinney cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $26M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.4M 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 101,296 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
McKinney ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frisco | Frisco Public Library fine-free | 15.2 | 71 | B+ |
| Allen | Allen Public Library | 9.6 | 61 | C+ |
| McKinney | Mckinney Public Library System fine-free | 8.4 | 70 | C |
| Melissa | Melissa Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 40 | C− |
| Prosper | Prosper Community Library fine-free | — | 49 | B |
| Fairview | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Lowry Crossing | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Mckinney Public Library System counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 McKinney
Does McKinney have a public library?
Yes. Mckinney Public Library System, 101 E Hunt St., serves McKinney’s 213,509 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mckinney Public 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 McKinney’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 8.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is McKinney’s civic life grade?
C McKinney is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #244 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 McKinney.
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.