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VAVirginia rankings

Towns with the most-used public libraries in Virginia

Ranked by library visits per resident in a year, at the public library that serves the town. 24 towns with 2,500+ residents.

IMLS Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024

Bristol 1 Bristol 11.5 per resident Bristol Public Library Falls Church 2 Falls Church 11.5 per resident Mary Riley Styles Public Library Colonial Heights 3 Colonial Heights 7.6 per resident Colonial Heights Public Library
#TownVisits per residentLibraryVisits a year
1 Bristol Bristol16,849 people 11.5 per resident Bristol Public Library 197,718
2 Falls Church Falls Church14,710 people 11.5 per resident Mary Riley Styles Public Library 167,901
3 Colonial Heights Colonial Heights18,352 people 7.6 per resident Colonial Heights Public Library 137,423
4 Staunton Staunton25,948 people 6.0 per resident Staunton Public Library 156,341
5 Clifton Forge Clifton Forge3,447 people 5.6 per resident Clifton Forge Public Library 19,250
6 Poquoson Poquoson12,639 people 5.2 per resident Poquoson Public Library 64,450
7 Radford Radford16,726 people 4.9 per resident Radford Public Library 82,535
8 Roanoke Roanoke98,355 people 4.4 per resident Roanoke City Public Library 435,399
9 Waynesboro Waynesboro22,841 people 3.8 per resident Waynesboro Public Library 85,374
10 Manassas Park Manassas Park16,798 people 3.8 per resident Manassas Park City Library 65,166
11 Alexandria Alexandria156,976 people 3.3 per resident Alexandria Library 525,013
12 Pearisburg Pearisburg2,860 people 3.3 per resident Pearisburg Public Library 8,646
13 Salem Salem25,618 people 2.9 per resident Salem Public Library 71,434
14 Petersburg Petersburg33,537 people 2.7 per resident Petersburg Public Library 89,397
15 Chesapeake Chesapeake252,583 people 2.6 per resident Chesapeake Public Library 660,776
16 Richmond Richmond229,359 people 2.3 per resident Richmond Public Library 531,936
17 Norfolk Norfolk233,596 people 2.1 per resident Norfolk Public Library 496,599
18 Virginia Beach Virginia Beach456,349 people 2.0 per resident Virginia Beach Public Library 911,501
19 Lynchburg79,497 people 1.9 per resident Lynchburg Public Library 150,000
20 Portsmouth Portsmouth97,190 people 1.8 per resident Portsmouth Public Library 180,176
21 Newport News Newport News184,216 people 1.7 per resident Newport News Public Library System 316,314
22 Danville Danville42,214 people 1.7 per resident Danville Public Library 72,325
23 Suffolk Suffolk98,796 people 1.4 per resident Suffolk Public Library System 135,308
24 Hampton Hampton137,557 people 0.7 per resident Hampton Public Library 89,696

How this ranking works

We rank every town by library visits per resident in a year, at the public library that serves the town. 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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