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SDSouth Dakota rankings

Towns that borrow the most from their library in South Dakota

Ranked by books, movies, e-books and other items the town’s public library lent in a year, per resident. 15 towns with 2,500+ residents.

IMLS Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024

Canton
South Dakota · Most library borrowing

Where Canton lands: #1 of 15

20.7 per resident books, movies & e-books borrowed a year · Visit Canton →

Canton 1 Canton 20.7 per resident Canton Public Library Map of North Sioux City 2 North Sioux City 18.7 per resident North Sioux City Community Library Map of Huron 3 Huron 12.5 per resident Huron Public Library
#TownLoans per residentLibraryLoans a year
1 Canton Canton3,033 people 20.7 per resident Canton Public Library 62,077
2 Map of North Sioux City North Sioux City3,045 people 18.7 per resident North Sioux City Community Library 56,864
3 Map of Huron Huron14,385 people 12.5 per resident Huron Public Library 182,780
4 Brookings23,948 people 11.2 per resident Brookings Public Library 271,477
5 Hot Springs Hot Springs3,548 people 10.2 per resident Hot Springs Public Library 36,708
6 Watertown Watertown23,044 people 10.1 per resident Watertown Regional Library 234,569
7 Map of Mitchell Mitchell15,649 people 9.6 per resident Mitchell Public Library 150,141
8 Belle Fourche Belle Fourche5,804 people 9.4 per resident Belle Fourche Public Library 55,023
9 Madison Madison6,094 people 9.1 per resident Madison Public Library 55,396
10 Dell Rapids Dell Rapids3,905 people 9.0 per resident Dell Rapids Carnegie Public Library 34,885
11 Yankton Yankton15,540 people 8.7 per resident Yankton Community Library 136,451
12 Vermillion Vermillion11,878 people 7.8 per resident Edith B Siegrist Vermillion Public Library 93,669
13 Mobridge Mobridge2,932 people 7.5 per resident A. H. Brown Public Library 24,225
14 Map of Harrisburg Harrisburg8,519 people 5.3 per resident Harrisburg Community Library 49,829
15 Sisseton Sisseton2,670 people 4.6 per resident Sisseton Memorial Library 11,025

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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