Photo: lfwlfw / Bevo at English Wikipedia · Public domainPort Isabel’s library logs 4.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Port Isabel Public Library serves Port Isabel’s 6,990 residents. Last year it lent 6,252 books, movies and e-books and logged 30K visits.
Port Isabel’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
24,748 cards for 6,990 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Port Isabel Public Library offered 14 programs last year, 2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Port Isabel Public Library lends 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, fewer than 95% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Port Isabel Public Library holds 32,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Port Isabel’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Port Isabel is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns, #396 of 539 in Texas. Port Isabel is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Port Isabel’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($24K–$40K) 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Port Isabel
2.8 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.5%
4.5% of Port Isabel’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 Port Isabel’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Port Isabel Public Library serves 6,990 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
6,252 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 32K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
2,140 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
14 programs a year
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 Port Isabel last year.
Find it
Port Isabel Public Library, 213 N Yturria St., Port Isabel.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Port Isabel? 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 Port Isabel cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $245K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $103K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $245K 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 24,748 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownsville | Brownsville Public Library | 1.3 | 65 | D− |
| Port Isabel | Port Isabel Public Library | 0.9 | 38 | D |
| Laguna Heights | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Port Isabel
Does Port Isabel have a public library?
Yes. Port Isabel Public Library, 213 N Yturria St., serves Port Isabel’s 6,990 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Port Isabel 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 Port Isabel’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Port Isabel’s civic life grade?
D Port Isabel is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on civic life, #396 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 Port Isabel.
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.