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AZArizona rankings

Towns that borrow the most from their library in Arizona

Ranked by books, movies, e-books and other items the town’s public library lent in a year, per resident. 41 towns with 2,500+ residents.

IMLS Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024

Tempe
Arizona · Most library borrowing

Where Tempe lands: #29 of 41

4.9 per resident books, movies & e-books borrowed a year · Visit Tempe →

Sedona 1 Sedona 20.8 per resident Community Library Sedona Cottonwood 2 Cottonwood 19.7 per resident Cottonwood Public Library Cave Creek 3 Cave Creek 18.5 per resident Desert Foothills Library
#TownLoans per residentLibraryLoans a year
1 Sedona Sedona9,777 people 20.8 per resident Community Library Sedona 203,280
2 Cottonwood Cottonwood12,580 people 19.7 per resident Cottonwood Public Library 249,592
3 Cave Creek Cave Creek5,091 people 18.5 per resident Desert Foothills Library 97,387
4 Apache Junction Apache Junction41,058 people 12.5 per resident Apache Junction Public Library 520,912
5 Prescott Prescott47,400 people 12.2 per resident Prescott Public Library 585,308
6 Prescott Valley Prescott Valley49,179 people 10.0 per resident Prescott Valley Public Library 516,838
7 Bisbee Bisbee4,977 people 10.0 per resident Copper Queen Library 50,351
8 Map of Tolleson Tolleson7,668 people 9.2 per resident Tolleson Public Library 78,973
9 Eloy Eloy17,433 people 8.8 per resident Eloy Santa Cruz Library 167,658
10 Scottsdale Scottsdale243,821 people 8.7 per resident Scottsdale Public Library 2,179,999
11 Chino Valley Chino Valley13,602 people 8.2 per resident Chino Valley Public Library 113,889
12 Show Low Show Low12,102 people 7.9 per resident Show Low Public Library 98,739
13 Camp Verde Camp Verde12,521 people 7.5 per resident Camp Verde Community Library 93,345
14 Benson Benson5,417 people 7.4 per resident Benson Public Library 40,940
15 Parker Parker3,388 people 7.1 per resident Parker Public Library 24,850
16 Pinetop-Lakeside Pinetop-Lakeside4,101 people 6.9 per resident Pinetop-Lakeside Public Library 29,039
17 Williams Williams3,369 people 6.8 per resident Williams Public Library 24,533
18 Wickenburg Wickenburg8,059 people 6.5 per resident Wickenburg Public Library and Learning Center 54,619
19 Pima Pima2,995 people 6.5 per resident Pima Public Library 20,556
20 Payson Payson16,622 people 6.2 per resident Payson Public Library 103,930
21 Chandler Chandler280,136 people 6.1 per resident Chandler Public Library 1,751,411
22 Phoenix Phoenix1,642,323 people 5.9 per resident Phoenix Public Library 10,083,835
23 Map of Sierra Vista Sierra Vista45,155 people 5.9 per resident Sierra Vista Public Library 268,783
24 Casa Grande Casa Grande60,905 people 5.5 per resident Casa Grande Public Library 364,707
25 Page Page7,345 people 5.5 per resident Page Public Library 41,045
26 Peoria Peoria196,906 people 5.1 per resident Peoria Public Library System 1,030,339
27 Mesa Mesa511,764 people 4.9 per resident Mesa Public Library 2,551,545
28 Glendale Glendale252,833 people 4.9 per resident Glendale Public Library 1,284,112
29 Tempe Tempe188,065 people 4.9 per resident Tempe Public Library 940,397
30 Willcox Willcox3,222 people 4.4 per resident Elsie S. Hogan Community Library 14,308
31 Holbrook Holbrook4,858 people 4.3 per resident Holbrook Public Library 21,153
32 Superior Superior2,535 people 4.3 per resident Superior Public Library 10,663
33 Globe Globe7,195 people 4.0 per resident Globe Public Library 28,379
34 Maricopa Maricopa67,163 people 3.9 per resident Maricopa Library & Cultural Center 288,764
35 Coolidge Coolidge16,636 people 3.0 per resident Coolidge Public Library 56,343
36 Winslow Winslow8,773 people 2.7 per resident Winslow Public Library 23,361
37 Florence Florence25,570 people 2.4 per resident Viney Jones Library 58,172
38 Map of Avondale Avondale92,477 people 1.6 per resident Avondale Public Library 157,222
39 Douglas Douglas15,981 people 1.1 per resident Douglas Public Library 17,028
40 Clifton Clifton3,822 people 0.9 per resident Clifton Public Library 3,386
41 Youngtown Youngtown7,015 people 0.6 per resident Youngtown Public Library 4,648

How this ranking works

We rank every town by books, movies, e-books and other items the town’s public library lent in a year, per resident. The highest figure ranks #1. Each library reports its own yearly numbers to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (fiscal year 2024), and each town’s Library page shows how it compares with libraries of a similar size nationwide.

A town is ranked only when its library system serves that town alone, and the library’s own count of the people it serves is within 20% of the town’s population. Towns served by a county or regional system, or sharing a library with a neighbor, can’t be credited with the numbers, so they aren’t ranked. Libraries that didn’t respond to the survey aren’t ranked either. Vacation towns can rank high because summer residents and visitors use the library too.

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Libraries: IMLS Public Libraries Survey. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

Same ranking in other states

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