Winters’ library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Winters Public Library serves 3,181 people in and around Winters. Last year it lent 1,320 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,248 visits.
Winters’s library, in brief
Winters Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Winters Public Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $8 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
57% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 43%. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Winters Public Library offered 23 programs last year, 7.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Winters Public Library spends $8 per resident, less than 97% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Winters Public Library serves 3,181 people in and around Winters, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Winters’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Winters is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns. Winters is graded on two of the three inputs. Winters’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($36K–$61K) 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Winters
6.2 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.0%
3.0% of Winters’ 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 Winters’ 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.
Winters Public Library serves 3,181 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 Winters Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,320 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
23 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
Winters Public Library, 120 N Main St., Winters.
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 Winters cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $26K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $22K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $26K 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 2,435 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Winters Public Library serves 3,181 people in and around Winters, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Winters.
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 Winters
Does Winters have a public library?
Yes. Winters Public Library, 120 N Main St., serves 3,181 people in and around Winters (the survey’s count) and is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Winters Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Winters’ library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 0.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Winters’ civic life grade?
C+ Winters is ahead of 36% 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 Winters.
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.