Photo: Patrick Feller from Humble, Texas, USA · CC BY 2.0Newton’s library lends 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Newton County Public Library serves 12,039 people in and around Newton. Last year it lent 7,890 books, movies and e-books and logged 27K visits.
What Newton’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
80% of the 128 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.4 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Newton County Public Library lends 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, fewer than 96% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Newton County Public Library spends $13 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Newton County Public Library serves 12,039 people in and around Newton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Newton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Newton is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. Newton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Newton
5.1 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.3%
12.3% of Newton’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 Newton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Newton County Public Library serves 12,039 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Newton County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,890 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
970 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Newton County Public Library, 212 High St., Newton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Newton County Public Library branch.
New in Newton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Newton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $155K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $134K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $155K 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 6,611 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Newton County Public Library serves 12,039 people in and around Newton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Newton.
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 Newton
Does Newton have a public library?
Yes. Newton County Public Library, 212 High St., serves 12,039 people in and around Newton (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Newton County 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 Newton’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 0.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Newton’s civic life grade?
A Newton is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Newton.
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.