Rio Hondo’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Rio Hondo Public Library serves Rio Hondo’s 3,134 residents. Last year it lent 1,780 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,329 visits.
What Rio Hondo’s library is like
Rio Hondo Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Rio Hondo Public Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
3,517 cards for 3,134 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 ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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 Rio Hondo’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rio Hondo has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Rio Hondo is graded on two of the three inputs. Rio Hondo’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Rio Hondo Public Library spends $19 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($27K–$45K) 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 →
Rio Hondo has few registered community nonprofits
0.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.1%
2.1% of Rio Hondo’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 Rio Hondo’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Rio Hondo Public Library serves 3,134 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
1,780 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
738 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
39 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Rio Hondo last year.
Find it
Rio Hondo Public Library, 121 N Arroyo Blvd, Rio Hondo.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Rio Hondo? 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 Rio Hondo cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $60K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $29K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $60K 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 3,517 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Rio Hondo
Does Rio Hondo have a public library?
Yes. Rio Hondo Public Library, 121 N Arroyo Blvd, serves Rio Hondo’s 3,134 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rio Hondo 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 Rio Hondo’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 0.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Rio Hondo’s civic life grade?
D− Rio Hondo 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 Rio Hondo.
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.