Photo: Texas.pics · CC BY-SA 3.0Stanton’s library runs 8.6 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Martin County Library serves 5,216 people in and around Stanton. Last year it lent 7,295 books, movies and e-books and logged 9,139 visits.
Stanton’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Martin County Library offered 45 programs last year, 8.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 2% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 92% of similar-size libraries. 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; Martin County Library serves 5,216 people in and around Stanton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Stanton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Stanton is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #65 of 539 in Texas. Stanton is graded on two of the three inputs. Stanton’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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Stanton
8.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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.
6.6%
6.6% of Stanton’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 Stanton’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.
Martin County Library serves 5,216 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Martin County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,295 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
159 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
45 programs a year
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
Martin County Library, 200 N St. Mary, Stanton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Martin County Library branch.
New in Stanton? 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 Stanton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $242K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $119K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $242K 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 3,663 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Martin County Library serves 5,216 people in and around Stanton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Stanton.
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 Stanton
Does Stanton have a public library?
Yes. Martin County Library, 200 N St. Mary, serves 5,216 people in and around Stanton (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Martin 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 Stanton’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Stanton’s civic life grade?
B+ Stanton is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on civic life, #65 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 Stanton.
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.