Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0Pharr’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Pharr Memorial Library serves Pharr’s 120,208 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 96K print books and media and logged 162K visits.
Pharr’s library, in brief
Pharr’s library system is used less than most libraries its size
Pharr’s library system records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
89% of the 447 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Pharr’s library system offered 447 programs last year, 3.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
A place to get online
Pharr’s library system logs about 1,893 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 123 public computers. That’s 5.7 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Runs on less money than most
Pharr’s library system spends $14 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). 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 Pharr’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pharr has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Pharr is graded on two of the three inputs. Pharr’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Pharr Memorial Library spends $14 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($40K–$66K) 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 →
60 community nonprofits are registered in Pharr
0.8 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 (47 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.
1.7%
1.7% of Pharr’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 Pharr’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Pharr Memorial Library serves 120,208 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
96K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 101K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 8 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 Pharr last year.
2 places to borrow in Pharr
Pharr Memorial Library, 121 E Cherokee Ave, Pharr.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Pharr? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Pharr
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pharr cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 88,237 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Pharr ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McAllen | Mcallen Public Library | 2.1 | 72 | D− |
| Pharr | Pharr Memorial Library | 0.8 | 63 | D− |
| San Juan | San Juan Memorial Library | 0.2 | 57 | D− |
| Lopezville | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
- 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 Pharr
Does Pharr have a public library?
Yes. Pharr Memorial Library, 121 E Cherokee Ave, serves Pharr’s 120,208 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pharr Memorial 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 Pharr’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 0.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Pharr’s civic life grade?
D− Pharr has fewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 Pharr.
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.