Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Sonora’s library lends 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Sutton County Library serves 3,221 people in and around Sonora. Last year it lent 3,068 books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Sonora’s library
People visit, but borrow less than most
Sutton County Library lends 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, fewer than 96% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
47% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 47% 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; Sutton County Library serves 3,221 people in and around Sonora, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Sonora’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sonora is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. Sonora’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Sonora
8.9 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.0%
5.0% of Sonora’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 Sonora’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sutton County Library serves 3,221 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, for the whole Sutton County Library system. The library’s own count.
47% of borrowing is digital
3,068 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,441 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Sutton County Library, 306 E Mulberry St., Sonora.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sutton County Library branch.
New in Sonora? 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 Sonora cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $199K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $99K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $199K 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 2,602 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Sutton County Library serves 3,221 people in and around Sonora, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Sonora.
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 Sonora
Does Sonora have a public library?
Yes. Sutton County Library, 306 E Mulberry St., serves 3,221 people in and around Sonora (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sutton County 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 Sonora’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sonora’s civic life grade?
B− Sonora is ahead of 53% 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 Sonora.
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.