South Houston’s library is a branch of Harris County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 57% of systems its size
South Houston’s library is the South Houston Branch Library, a branch of Harris County Public Library, which serves 2,281,173 people and lent 18M items last year.
The short version on South Houston’s library
More library cards than residents
2,308,724 cards for 2,281,173 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 54% of loans, more per resident than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 46%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
The Harris County Public Library system records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, below 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 3.6 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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; South Houston’s library is a branch of Harris County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (2,281,173 people), not just the South Houston branch.
What’s behind South Houston’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, South Houston has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. South Houston is graded on two of the three inputs. South Houston’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Harris County Public Library spends $17 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($40K–$67K) 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in South Houston
0.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
1.8%
1.8% of South Houston’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 South Houston’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Harris County Public Library serves 2,281,173 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 246 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Harris County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
54% of borrowing is digital
18M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
9,517,766 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 120 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
South Houston Branch Library, 607 Ave A, South Houston.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Harris County Public Library branch.
New in South Houston? 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 $7.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Houston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $38M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $268M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $38M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 2,308,724 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.
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.
- System-wide. South Houston Branch Library is one branch of Harris County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 2,281,173 people it serves.
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 South Houston
Does South Houston have a public library?
Yes: South Houston Branch Library, 607 Ave A, is a branch of Harris County Public Library, which serves 2,281,173 people. The branch is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Harris County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is South Houston’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 7.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is South Houston’s civic life grade?
D− South Houston 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 South Houston.
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.