U.S. Public Libraries by the Numbers: How Many, and Where

U.S. Public Libraries by the Numbers: How Many, and Where

The U.S. has 9,202 public library systems operating 17,351 locations, drawing over 803 million visits a year. Here’s how the states compare.

By the Public-Libraries.com Editorial Team · Updated August 7, 2026

In this guide

How many public libraries are in the United States?

According to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Public Libraries Survey (FY2023), the United States has 9,202 public libraries (administrative entities) operating 17,351 outlets — central libraries, branches, and bookmobiles — across the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Together they draw about 803 million in-person visits and circulate roughly 2.0 billion items a year (physical and digital combined).

How this is counted: Counts derived directly from the official IMLS FY2023 Public Libraries Survey public-use data files. 'libraries' = active administrative entities (AEs; a public library / legally established agency providing service to a jurisdiction), excluding records flagged temporarily closed (STATSTRU 23). 'outlets' = active library service outlets (central library, branches, bookmobiles, and books-by-mail providers) from the outlet file, excluding temporarily closed. Figures cover the 50 states + DC only (outlying territories excluded). VISITS and circulation are national sums of the corresponding AE variables; negative/unreported codes treated as 0. Verified: 50-states+DC AE total = 9,202 and outlet total = 17,351 exactly match the IMLS FY2023 documentation. “Public libraries” means administrative entities (a legally established library agency); “outlets” means physical service points. Source: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2023.

Public libraries by state (ranked)

Rank State Public libraries Outlets
1 New York 757 1,068
2 Illinois 623 792
3 Texas 547 891
4 Iowa 544 574
5 Pennsylvania 443 634
6 Michigan 396 661
7 Wisconsin 381 466
8 Massachusetts 367 460
9 Kansas 323 378
10 New Jersey 295 449
11 Maine 256 263
12 Ohio 251 777
13 Nebraska 245 273
14 Indiana 236 451
15 Alabama 224 303
16 New Hampshire 223 228
17 California 221 1,221
18 Connecticut 190 238
19 Tennessee 185 291
20 Vermont 184 191
21 Missouri 149 388
22 Minnesota 141 365
23 Oregon 136 223
24 Oklahoma 121 221
25 Kentucky 120 269
26 Colorado 112 281
27 South Dakota 106 129
28 Idaho 105 169
29 New Mexico 96 126
30 West Virginia 96 181
31 Virginia 94 384
32 Arizona 89 230
33 North Carolina 84 415
34 Montana 82 119
35 Florida 79 554
36 North Dakota 78 98
37 Utah 71 135
38 Alaska 70 86
39 Louisiana 68 358
40 Georgia 60 405
41 Washington 60 359
42 Arkansas 59 232
43 Mississippi 53 228
44 Rhode Island 48 73
45 South Carolina 42 225
46 Maryland 25 213
47 Wyoming 23 77
48 Delaware 21 35
49 Nevada 21 87
50 District of Columbia 1 26
51 Hawaii 1 51

What the numbers show

States with many small, independent town libraries top the list by number of systems — which is why New York, Illinois, and Iowa rank so high. States like Texas and California have fewer separate systems but more branches per system, so they rank higher by outlets. Either way, wherever you live there’s almost certainly a free public library nearby — find yours in our state-by-state directory.

Related guides

How to Get a Library Card in Any State →Free Online Library Resources by State →

Frequently Asked Questions

How many public libraries are there in the U.S.?
Per IMLS (FY2023), there are 9,202 public library systems operating 17,351 outlets across the 50 states and D.C.
Which state has the most public libraries?
By number of library systems, New York leads with 757, followed by Illinois and Texas.
Where does this data come from?
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2023 — the official annual census of U.S. public libraries.
PL

Public-Libraries.com Editorial Team

Public-Libraries.com is an independent, reader-supported directory of every U.S. public library. Our editorial team compiles verified hours, services and resources from official sources — see how we verify our data.



Latest data: IMLS FY2024 Public Libraries Survey

Updated for FY2024. The Institute of Museum and Library Services released the FY2024 Public Libraries Survey in mid-2026 — now the most recent official count. It records 9,200 public libraries (administrative entities) operating 17,415 outlets across the 50 states and Washington, D.C., drawing roughly 869 million in-person visits a year. That's about 64 more service outlets and 66 million more visits than FY2023 (803 million) — in-person library use has continued its post-pandemic rebound. The state-by-state ranking below reflects FY2024; the FY2023 figures earlier on this page are retained for year-over-year comparison. Source: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.

A few shifts stand out in the FY2024 numbers: New Mexico jumped from 96 to 101 library systems, Missouri rose to 152, and Hawaii (a single statewide system of 52 branches) now edges ahead of Washington, D.C. (one system, 27 outlets) when ties are broken by outlet count. California again illustrates the branch-heavy model — just 221 separate systems but 1,226 outlets, the most of any state. Counting method is identical to the FY2023 figures above (active administrative entities and outlets, temporarily-closed records excluded, 50 states + D.C. only), computed directly from the IMLS FY2024 public-use data files.

Rank State Public libraries (FY2024) Outlets (FY2024)
1 New York 759 1068
2 Illinois 623 794
3 Texas 544 891
4 Iowa 544 574
5 Pennsylvania 443 626
6 Michigan 396 663
7 Wisconsin 381 466
8 Massachusetts 367 463
9 Kansas 323 378
10 New Jersey 295 448
11 Maine 256 264
12 Ohio 251 784
13 Nebraska 244 272
14 Indiana 236 453
15 New Hampshire 222 228
16 California 221 1226
17 Alabama 221 304
18 Connecticut 189 238
19 Tennessee 185 291
20 Vermont 183 190
21 Missouri 152 394
22 Minnesota 140 366
23 Oregon 136 221
24 Oklahoma 122 222
25 Kentucky 120 273
26 Colorado 112 284
27 South Dakota 106 128
28 Idaho 105 173
29 New Mexico 101 131
30 West Virginia 96 181
31 Virginia 93 390
32 Arizona 89 229
33 North Carolina 84 423
34 Montana 84 120
35 Florida 79 557
36 North Dakota 78 98
37 Utah 69 133
38 Louisiana 68 359
39 Alaska 68 84
40 Georgia 60 404
41 Washington 60 362
42 Arkansas 59 230
43 Mississippi 53 232
44 Rhode Island 48 72
45 South Carolina 42 237
46 Maryland 26 214
47 Wyoming 23 77
48 Nevada 21 86
49 Delaware 21 35
50 Hawaii 1 52
51 District of Columbia 1 27

Note on circulation: IMLS refined how physical and electronic materials are tabulated in FY2024, so total-circulation figures are not directly comparable year-over-year and are omitted from this comparison. Visit counts remain comparable and are the clearer measure of in-person use.

More library statistics and resources

Want to dig deeper into the data or put these libraries to use? These related pages go further:

More frequently asked questions

What is the largest public library in the United States?
By collection size, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. is the largest library in the country — but it is a national research library, not a public lending library. Among public library systems, the New York Public Library, Boston Public Library, and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County hold some of the largest collections, each with tens of millions of items across their branches.
Is public library funding being cut?
Funding varies year to year and by jurisdiction. The large majority of U.S. public library revenue — around 85–90% — comes from local sources (city and county taxes), with the rest from state and federal programs. Federal library funding (chiefly through IMLS and the Grants to States program) is comparatively small but supports statewide services like shared databases and e-book platforms. For the full breakdown of where library money comes from, see our guide on how libraries are funded.
How often is the Public Libraries Survey updated?
IMLS conducts the Public Libraries Survey annually, collecting data from nearly every public library in the country through the state library agencies. There is typically a lag of about 18–24 months between the fiscal year covered and the public release of the data — the FY2024 results, for example, were published in mid-2026. It is the most complete official census of U.S. public libraries available.

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