Number of Public Libraries in the United States

1) The actual number of public libraires per state (#L), compiled from a detailed search of the Yellow Pages,

2) The average number of people per library (P/L), a function of the total state population, divided by the number of public libraries in each state,

and

3) The average number of square-miles-per-library (SM/L), which is the total state land area (not including water) divided by the number of public libraries in each state. It's meant to give some idea of how far you'd have to travel to get to the nearest public library.

So lower numbers are better for the last two columns.

Interesting point: Column 2 (people per library) correlates noticeably with Morgan Quitno's Smart State Ranking, even though the criteria used for that ranking did NOT include anything about public libraries.

State ............... # L ............. P/L ............. SM/L

ALABAMA ...................... 338 .................. 13,485 ..................... 150

ALASKA .......................... 53 .................. 12,522 ................. 10,792

ARIZONA ....................... 148 .................. 40,130 ..................... 768

ARKANSAS ..................... 193 .................. 14,400 ..................... 270

CALIFORNIA ................. 1,712 .................. 21,105 ...................... 91

COLORADO ..................... 326 .................. 14,310 ..................... 318

CONNECTICUT ................. 361 ................... 9,724 ...................... 13

DELAWARE ....................... 44 .................. 19,171 ...................... 44

FLORIDA ........................ 649 ................... 27,411 ..................... 83

GEORGIA ........................ 473 ................... 19,181 ................... 122

HAWAII ........................... 42 ................... 30,362 ................... 153

IDAHO ........................... 145 ..................... 9,856 ................... 571

ILLINOIS ...................... 1,004 .................. 12,713 ..................... 55

INDIANA ......................... 677 .................... 9,264 ..................... 53

IOWA ............................. 558 .................... 5,316 ................... 100

KANSAS .......................... 446 .................... 6,154 ................... 183

KENTUCKY ....................... 273 .................. 15,287 ................... 146

LOUISIANA ...................... 398 .................. 11,366 ................... 109

MAINE ............................ 217 .................... 6,090 ................... 142

MARYLAND ...................... 285 .................. 19,650 ..................... 34

MASSACHUSETTS ............ 380 ................... 16,839 ..................... 21

MICHIGAN ...................... 796 ................... 12,715 ..................... 71

MINNESOTA .................... 500 .................. 10,266 .................... 159

MISSISSIPPI ................... 228 .................. 12,812 .................... 206

MISSOURI ................. 497 .............. 11,671 ............... 139

MONTANA ................ 100 ................ 9,357 ............ 1,456

NEBRASKA ................ 229 ............... 7,680 ................ 336

NEVADA .................... 67 .............. 36,042 ............. 1,639

NEW HAMPSHIRE ....... 163 ............... 8,036 .................. 55

NEW JERSEY ............. 306 ............. 28,490 .................. 24

NEW MEXICO ............. 37 .............. 52,118 .............. 3,280

NEW YORK ............ 1,449 .............. 12,845 .................. 31

NORTH CAROLINA ...... 536 .............. 16,200 .................. 91

NORTH DAKOTA .......... 77 ................ 8,269 ................ 896

OHIO .................... 1,069 .............. 10,724 .................. 38

OKLAHOMA ............... 295 .............. 12,027 ................ 233

OREGON ................... 165 .............. 22,067 ................ 582

PENNSYLVANIA .......... 764 .............. 16,269 ................. 59

RHODE ISLAND ............ 66 .............. 16,306 ................. 16

SOUTH CAROLINA ...... 229 .............. 18,581 ................ 131

SOUTH DAKOTA .......... 71 .............. 10,929 .............. 1,069

TENNESSEE .............. 389 .............. 15,329 ................ 106

TEXAS ..................... 969 .............. 23,591 ................ 270

UTAH ........................ 79 .............. 31,261 .............. 1,040

VERMONT ................. 122 ................ 5,107 .................. 76

VIRGINIA .................. 454 .............. 16,168 ................... 87

WASHINGTON ............ 262 .............. 23,999 ................. 254

WEST VIRGINIA .......... 151 .............. 12,032 ................. 159

WISCONSIN ............... 555 ................ 9,975 .................. 98

WYOMING ................... 81 ................ 6,287 .............. 1,199

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