REPORT: Austin 1 of best cities for book lovers nationwide

Kelsey Thompson
·1 min read

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Bookmark this: A new report ranked Austin one of the best cities in the nation for book lovers.

Austin ranked fifteenth in the country for its literary support, joined by fellow Texas cities Houston (No. 7) and Dallas (No. 18) in the Top 25. Austin’s 2024 ranking rose seven spots, up from its No. 22 ranking in 2023.

Austin Public Library cards now available without fees to city’s extraterritorial jurisdictions

New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle laid claim to the top five spots in the nation.

The study focused on four key metric areas to judge cities on:

  • Books for sale access

    • Bookstores per square mile

    • Independent bookstores per square mile

    • Used and rare bookstores per square mile

    • Thrift stores per square mile

  • Book rental access

    • Number of public libraries

    • Number of libraries located within a half-mile

    • Number of bookmobiles

  • Special access

    • Number of antique, rare bookstores

    • Partially or completely fine-free libraries

    • Permission for non-residents to borrow from libraries

    • Number of Braille libraries

  • Community

    • Number of book clubs

    • Number of silent book clubs

    • BookCrossing “Books in the Wild” per 100,000 residents

    • Number of publishing houses

    • Number of literary landmarks

The report’s ranking of Austin found the Texas capital has 91 total bookstores, 11 independent bookstores, 27 public libraries, two antique and rare bookstores as well as 11 publishing houses.

More details from the report — including a closer breakdown of the top five rankings — are available online.

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