How Much Does the Sun Belt Borrow From Libraries? The Gap Is Huge

Public library borrowing varies sharply across the Sun Belt, with some states approaching the national average and others recording some of the lowest circulation rates in the country.

Americans checked out an average of 6.5 physical and digital library items per person in fiscal 2024, according to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which collects annual data from thousands of public libraries nationwide.

Across the South, the numbers tell a very different story from state to state.

North Carolina comes closest to the national average

North Carolina residents accessed just over 62 million library items in fiscal 2024, according to the State Library of North Carolina.

That works out to nearly six items per resident, putting North Carolina relatively close to the national average of 6.5.

The state has 84 public library systems and nearly 400 library locations.

South Carolina: About 4.7 items per resident

South Carolina's public libraries reported about 24.5 million items borrowed while serving roughly 5.15 million people.

That equals approximately 4.7 items per resident.

The total includes traditional books and printed materials along with millions of e-books, digital audiobooks, videos and other electronic resources.

Louisiana: Around 3 to 4 per resident

Louisiana's numbers vary depending on the type of library system.

Metropolitan systems reported circulation of roughly 3.9 items per resident, while rural and mid-size systems were closer to three.

Louisiana also changed the way some electronic materials were counted in 2024, making direct comparisons with earlier years and other states more difficult.

Georgia: 3.1 checkouts per person

Georgia recorded about 3.1 library checkouts per person, less than half the national average.

That puts the state toward the lower end of the national standings and below both North Carolina and South Carolina.

The figure measures public-library circulation, not how many books residents actually read. Books purchased privately, subscription services and other sources are not included.

Mississippi: 1.9 per person

Mississippi had one of the lowest reported borrowing rates in the country at just 1.9 checkouts per person.

That is less than one-third of the national average and the lowest figure among the Sun Belt states with directly comparable data in the federal analysis.

Texas libraries record nearly 108 million checkouts

Texas presents a different kind of picture.

Public libraries across the state recorded nearly 108 million physical and digital checkouts in fiscal 2024, up from about 101 million a year earlier.

But because Texas is one of the country's largest states, raw circulation totals cannot be compared directly with per-person figures from smaller states.

The statewide Texas report also does not present the number using exactly the same per-capita measure used in the national comparison.

Florida is missing from the comparison

Florida, despite being one of the largest Sun Belt states, does not have a comparable figure in the national dataset used for the analysis.

The federal data note that states shown without figures did not report the electronic circulation information needed to calculate the combined physical-and-digital rate.

That leaves a major gap in any attempt to produce a simple ranking of Sun Belt states.

The national leaders are elsewhere

The country's highest library circulation rates are mostly outside the Southeast.

Ohio leads the nation with more than 13 checkouts per person, while Utah and Washington each exceed 11. Colorado also records more than 10.

Those numbers are far above most of the Sun Belt states with comparable data.

Digital borrowing is changing the picture

Library circulation nationally is continuing to recover from its pandemic-era decline, and digital borrowing is playing an increasingly important role.

Americans checked out about 2.1 electronic items per person in fiscal 2024, the highest level in a decade. Physical materials still accounted for roughly 4.3 checkouts per person.

That shift also complicates state comparisons because library systems differ in how electronic services are offered and reported.

The larger Sun Belt picture is not one of uniformly low or high library use.

North Carolina comes close to the national average. South Carolina sits somewhat lower. Louisiana and Georgia fall further behind, while Mississippi is near the bottom nationally. Texas records enormous overall circulation but is harder to compare on a per-person basis, and Florida is missing from the dataset altogether.

For a region adding population faster than much of the country, the next question is whether library use will grow along with it — and whether the widening availability of e-books and audiobooks will begin to close some of the gaps between Sun Belt states.