The NAB’s “Depend on AM” campaign puts a lot of weight on the band’s monthly audience of 82 million. Nielsen data shows that one-third of all terrestrial radio listeners will listen to AM this month, but of the heaviest users what areas depend on AM the most?
Cumulus Media Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard shared Nielsen diary data from the Fall 2022 ratings period that gives further insights into the vitality of AM radio in local metro markets, ranking them based on the percentage of the radio audience that listens to AM radio. It’s a more diverse list than some might guess.
The markets with at least 20% AM radio listening include Buffalo, Chicago, and Sheboygan. The also data shows that markets in the upper Midwest tend to have a higher proportion of AM listening, and there is a wide variety of market sizes and geographical diversity among markets with significant AM radio usage.
Additionally, markets with hilly terrain like San Jose, San Francisco, and Sacramento, which pose challenges for FM signals, tend to have a larger proportion of AM listening.
Here are the top ten AM markets in America:
| Metro market rank | Market | % of the 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% |
