The Settlement Historic District · Photo: Jim Evans · CC BY-SA 4.0Texas City’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Moore Memorial Public Library serves Texas City’s 64,754 residents. Last year it lent 97K books, movies and e-books and logged 94K visits.
Texas City’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Moore Memorial Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on seven. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Moore Memorial Public Library offered 385 programs last year, 5.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
51% of the 385 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 122 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Moore Memorial Public Library holds 133,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. 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 Texas City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Texas City is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #456 of 539 in Texas State. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$86K) 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 →
95 community nonprofits are registered in Texas City
1.7 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 (45 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.6%
4.6% of Texas City’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.7% in the typical Texas State 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 Texas City’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Moore Memorial Public Library serves 64,754 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
97K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 133K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
18,737 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
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 Texas City last year.
Find it
Moore Memorial Public Library, 1701 9th Ave N, Texas City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Texas City? 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 Texas City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.9M 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 18,255 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Texas City ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galveston | Rosenberg Library fine-free | 4.6 | 60 | B+ |
| League City | Helen Hall Library fine-free | 3.8 | 60 | C− |
| Texas City | Moore Memorial Public Library fine-free | 1.5 | 56 | D− |
| Dickinson | Dickinson Public Library fine-free | 1.5 | 52 | D |
| La Marque | La Marque Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 38 | D |
| San Leon | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Bacliff | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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 Texas City
Does Texas City have a public library?
Yes. Moore Memorial Public Library, 1701 9th Ave N, serves Texas City’s 64,754 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Moore Memorial 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 Texas City’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Texas City’s civic life grade?
D− Texas City is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #456 of 539 in Texas State. 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 Texas City.
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.