Port Neches’ library logs 6.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Effie & Wilton Hebert Public Library serves Port Neches’s 13,591 residents. Last year it lent 49K books, movies and e-books and logged 82K visits.
Port Neches’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 86% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 37%. The building also logs about 11 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Top 10% in Texas for library use
Port Neches ranks #9 of 181 Texas towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 6.1 visits per resident, more than at 86% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 51% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 245 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 42 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Neches’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Port Neches is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #33 of 539 in Texas. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Port Neches’ count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
42 community nonprofits are registered in Port Neches
3.1 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
21.3%
21.3% of Port Neches’ 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 Neches’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Effie & Wilton Hebert Public Library serves 13,591 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
49K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 51K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
9,231 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
245 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 Neches last year.
Find it
Effie & Wilton Hebert Public Library, 2025 Merriman St., Port Neches.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Port Neches? 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 $1.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Port Neches cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $681K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $761K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $681K 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 7,047 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Port Neches ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nederland | Marion & Ed Hughes Public Library | 5.4 | 46 | A− |
| Port Neches | Effie & Wilton Hebert Public Library | 3.6 | 57 | A− |
| Groves | Groves Public Library | 3.3 | 49 | C |
| Port Arthur | Port Arthur Public Library | 0.3 | 55 | C |
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 Neches
Does Port Neches have a public library?
Yes. Effie & Wilton Hebert Public Library, 2025 Merriman St., serves Port Neches’ 13,591 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Effie & Wilton Hebert 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 Neches’ library?
It logged 6.1 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Port Neches’ civic life grade?
A− Port Neches is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #33 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 Neches.
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.