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

Q: 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.

Q: Which state has the most public libraries?

By number of library systems, New York leads with 757, followed by Illinois and Texas.

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 Megan Carter, Library Resources Editor · Updated August 7, 2026

In this guide

How many public libraries are in the United States?
Public libraries by state (ranked)
What the numbers show

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.

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.

Megan Carter

Megan Carter is the Library Resources Editor at Public-Libraries.com, where she researches and explains how to get the most out of America’s public libraries — from library cards to free digital resources.