Amid concerns regarding the future of AM radio, Nielsen Media Research has unveiled a list of 141 markets where at least 20% of consumers regularly listen to programming on the medium. The list is reflective of the percentage of monthly total radio listening being funneled to AM as opposed to total radio listening as a whole. The top three markets are all in the Great Lakes region, and Westwood One has found large proportions of these listeners are derived from the upper Midwest.
Buffalo-Niagara Falls leads the list with 56% of its audience tuning into AM radio in a month. It is a figure that makes sense based on the variety of AM stations, including leading news talk outlet WBEN and leading sports outlet WGR. The city of Chicago is ranked second, complete with 670 The Score, WGN and WLS. Nearby Milwaukee, Wis. ranks third on the list, another city with various AM stations such as WTMJ and WISN.
In a recent survey, Nielsen Media Research found that AM radio still reaches over 82.3 million Americans on a monthly basis – a measurement that equates to one-third of AM/FM radio listeners as a whole. Fifty-seven percent of the audience listens to stations in the news and/or talk format, utilizing the public service the outlets provide to learn of breaking news and other concerns.
There is a wide variety in market size represented throughout the list, but a trend of markets with undulating topographies tends to have larger shares of AM listeners because of the challenges the landscape presents to FM signals.
The full list compiled by Nielsen Media Research can be found below:
| Metro market rank | Market name | Percentage of radio audience that listens to AM radio |
|---|---|---|
| 59 | Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY | 56% |
| 3 | Chicago, IL [PPM] | 48% |
| 43 | Milwaukee-Racine, WI [PPM] | 48% |
| 245 | Sheboygan, WI | 45% |
| 253 | Grand Forks, ND-MN | 45% |
| 241 | Bismarck, ND | 44% |
| 39 | San Jose, CA [PPM] | 43% |
| 33 | Cincinnati, OH [PPM] | 42% |
| 11 | Seattle-Tacoma, WA [PPM] | 42% |
| 192 | Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN | 41% |
| 187 | St. Cloud, MN | 41% |
| 160 | Lincoln, NE | 40% |
| 130 | Macon, GA | 40% |
| 196 | Danbury, CT | 39% |
| 75 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | 39% |
| 4 | San Francisco, CA [PPM] | 39% |
| 137 | Youngstown-Warren, OH | 38% |
| 244 | Sioux City, IA | 38% |
| 83 | Boise, ID | 38% |
| 25 | San Antonio, TX [PPM] | 38% |
| 7 | Atlanta, GA [PPM] | 38% |
| 60 | Rochester, NY | 37% |
| 186 | Columbus, GA | 36% |
| 65 | Dayton, OH | 36% |
| 176 | Wausau-Stevens Pt (Centrl WI), WI | 36% |
| 114 | Johnson City-Kingspt-Brstl, TN-VA | 36% |
| 62 | Tucson, AZ | 36% |
| 159 | Rockford, IL | 36% |
| 55 | Louisville, KY | 36% |
| 27 | Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo [PPM] | 36% |
| 202 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 35% |
| 34 | Kansas City, KS-MO [PPM] | 35% |
| 70 | Albuquerque, NM | 35% |
| 88 | Spokane, WA | 35% |
| 16 | Puerto Rico | 35% |
| 67 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 34% |
| 124 | Morristown, NJ | 34% |
| 204 | Duluth-Superior, MN-WI | 34% |
| 71 | Des Moines, IA | 34% |
| 53 | Richmond, VA | 33% |
| 145 | Eugene-Springfield, OR | 33% |
| 252 | Jackson, TN | 33% |
| 149 | Shreveport, LA | 33% |
| 52 | Monmouth-Ocean, NJ | 33% |
| 73 | Metro Fairfield County, CT | 33% |
| 231 | Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 32% |
| 13 | Phoenix, AZ [PPM] | 32% |
| 12 | Miami-Ft Lauderdale-Hollywood [PPM] | 32% |
| 9 | Philadelphia, PA [PPM] | 32% |
| 96 | Reno, NV | 32% |
| 28 | Sacramento, CA [PPM] | 32% |
| 209 | Rochester, MN | 32% |
| 15 | Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN [PPM] | 31% |
| 178 | Anchorage, AK | 31% |
| 199 | Salina-Manhattan, KS | 31% |
| 2 | Los Angeles, CA [PPM] | 31% |
| 89 | Madison, WI | 31% |
| 5 | Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX [PPM] | 31% |
| 68 | Grand Rapids, MI | 31% |
| 223 | Eau Claire, WI | 30% |
| 74 | Allentown-Bethlehem, PA | 30% |
| 86 | Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA | 30% |
| 20 | Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island) [PPM] | 30% |
| 249 | Brunswick, GA | 30% |
| 139 | Appleton-Oshkosh, WI | 29% |
| 14 | Detroit, MI [PPM] | 29% |
| 239 | Harrisonburg, VA | 29% |
| 30 | Orlando, FL [PPM] | 29% |
| 10 | Boston, MA [PPM] | 29% |
| 189 | Bryan-College Station, TX | 29% |
| 106 | Lexington-Fayette, KY | 28% |
| 154 | Montgomery, AL | 28% |
| 136 | Reading, PA | 28% |
| 18 | Denver-Boulder, CO [PPM] | 28% |
| 188 | Kalamazoo, MI | 28% |
| 41 | Hudson Valley, NY | 28% |
| 17 | Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater [PPM] | 28% |
| 228 | Pueblo, CO | 27% |
| 230 | Monroe, LA | 27% |
| 116 | Ft. Wayne, IN | 27% |
| 35 | Cleveland, OH [PPM] | 27% |
| 22 | Portland, OR [PPM] | 27% |
| 183 | Green Bay, WI | 27% |
| 227 | Bloomington, IL | 26% |
| 190 | Waco, TX | 26% |
| 6 | Houston-Galveston, TX [PPM] | 26% |
| 193 | Binghamton, NY | 26% |
| 201 | Topeka, KS | 26% |
| 81 | Stockton, CA | 26% |
| 54 | Hartford-New Britain-Middletown [PPM] | 26% |
| 200 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 26% |
| 175 | Sioux Falls, SD | 25% |
| 100 | Syracuse, NY | 25% |
| 44 | Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket [PPM] | 25% |
| 195 | Manchester, NH | 25% |
| 180 | Lima-Van Wert, OH | 25% |
| 1 | New York, NY [PPM] | 25% |
| 119 | Corpus Christi, TX | 25% |
| 237 | Grand Island-Kearney-Hastngs, NE | 25% |
| 51 | Memphis, TN [PPM] | 25% |
| 142 | Canton, OH | 25% |
| 151 | Ann Arbor, MI | 24% |
| 90 | Columbia, SC | 24% |
| 208 | Las Cruces-Deming, NM | 24% |
| 178 | Traverse City-Petoskey, MI | 24% |
| 111 | York, PA | 24% |
| 87 | Colorado Springs, CO | 24% |
| 218 | Columbia, MO | 24% |
| 140 | Savannah, GA | 23% |
| 163 | Evansville, IN | 23% |
| 121 | Portsmouth-Dover-Rochester, NH | 23% |
| 247 | Williamsport, PA | 23% |
| 221 | Joplin, MO | 22% |
| 197 | Charleston, WV | 22% |
| 126 | New Haven, CT | 22% |
| 120 | Modesto, CA | 22% |
| 234 | Sussex, NJ | 22% |
| 69 | Sarasota-Bradenton, FL | 22% |
| 79 | Wilkes Barre-Scranton, PA | 22% |
| 29 | Austin, TX [PPM] | 22% |
| 24 | St. Louis, MO [PPM] | 22% |
| 23 | Baltimore, MD [PPM] | 22% |
| 127 | Jackson, MS | 22% |
| 77 | Baton Rouge, LA | 21% |
| 66 | Fresno, CA | 21% |
| 206 | Chico, CA | 21% |
| 104 | Huntsville, AL | 21% |
| 205 | Santa Barbara, CA | 21% |
| 166 | Poughkeepsie, NY | 21% |
| 157 | Peoria, IL | 21% |
| 224 | Muskegon, MI | 20% |
| 63 | Honolulu, HI | 20% |
| 50 | New Orleans, LA | 20% |
| 19 | San Diego, CA [PPM] | 20% |
| 236 | Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH | 20% |
| 32 | Las Vegas, NV [PPM] | 20% |
| 37 | Raleigh-Durham, NC [PPM] | 20% |
| 115 | Worcester, MA | 20% |
| 207 | Laurel-Hattiesburg, MS | 20% |
| 95 | Akron, OH | 20% |
| 117 | Lancaster, PA | 20% |
