The number of local news outlets per county based on Medill School of Journalism's State of Local News 2024 research. Data is also provided for median household income, poverty rate, broadband penetration, racial diversity, and whether a county is on Medill's news desert watchlist.
You can view maps, see data tables, and download all the data. There are also additional links to go deeper.
Source: All data from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism 2024 State of Local News report.
Get The Data
You can download selected or all data using the download button (rectangle with a downward pointing arrow) at the bottom of the data table above. This allows you to extract all the data to an Excel or CSV file to do your own analysis.
Those with Tableau can also download the entire workbook for analysis and creating visuals. You can also use the download button to capture the image above as a PNG file and/or create a PDF or PowerPoint page.
Go Deeper
A large and growing number of regions throughout the country have more in depth local news ecosystem studies. Many of them are captured through this Google Drive list that contains the study reports and links.
Public Media Catalyst also has much more data and insights for you on the Community Insights page, including:
And don’t forget AI. You can use ChatGPT or another generative AI chatbot to gather information about the state of local news in your community.
Build Your Own
Interested in a more targeted news ecosystem study based on zip codes, your broadcast footprint, or something similar? Do you want to commission your own local ecosystem study that goes even deeper? Contact us to share your ideas and let's figure out what might be possible.
We’re continually adding new resources as they’re developed. Let us know if there’s something specific you’d like to see, and sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on the latest additions.