Nielsen Audio Top 50 Market Counties

Nielsen Headquarters Signage

Nielsen Audio, a part of Nielsen Holdings, classifies designated market areas (DMAs) in the United States for radio stations. DMAs are regions where the population is measured for media consumption purposes. The ranking ranges from 1 to 210, with New York City being the largest market at number one and Glendive, Montana, at number 210, representing the smallest.

It’s important to note that these market designations are subject to change annually, considering shifts in population and media consumption patterns. To determine if a radio station is located within a rated market, one can access the current Nielsen Audio DMA rankings, which are typically available online and can provide valuable insights into a station’s market presence and potential reach.

The counties and regions listed below correspond to the 2023 Nielsen Audio Top-50 urban markets. If the LPFM transmitting antenna is situated within one of these areas, the following FCC rules are applicable:

1. §73.853(b): LPFM organizations in the Top-50 urban markets must ensure that either the headquarters or campus of the organization, or at least 75% of the organization’s board members, physically reside within 10 miles of the transmitting antenna location.
2. §73.872(b)(1): To claim the Established Community Presence point, an applicant must have, for a continuous two-year period prior to the application and continuously thereafter, the headquarters or campus of the organization, or at least 75% of the organization’s board members, physically residing within 10 miles of the transmitting antenna location.
3. §73.872(b)(3): To claim the Main Studio point, the applicant must commit to maintaining a publicly accessible main studio with local program origination capability. This studio should be reachable by telephone, staffed at least 20 hours per week between 7AM~10PM, and located within 10 miles of the transmitting antenna.

For counties and areas not classified as Top-50 urban markets, the 10-mile limit is extended to 20 miles according to FCC regulations.

Arizona	Maricopa
California	Alameda, Contra Costa, El Dorado (west of the Sierras including Placerville but not including South Lake Tahoe), Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Nevada (west of the Sierras, including Grass Valley and Nevada City, but not including Truckee), Orange, Placer (west of the Sierras, including Roseville, Auburn and Foresthill but not including Tahoe City), Riverside (Inland Empire area west of the San Jacintos.  Does not include the southern portion of the county such as Lake Elsinore, Temecula and Murrieta.  Also does not include the Coachella Valley, including Palm Springs and Indio or anywhere east of there), Sacramento, San Bernardino (Inland Empire and Big Bear/Lake Arrowhead areas only.  Does not include the western portion of the county, such as Ontario, Chino and Rancho Cucamonga.  Also does not include the Victor Valley and high desert areas such as Barstow.), San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, Yolo
Colorado	Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson
Connecticut	Fairfield (Stamford, Norwalk, Darien, New Canaan and Wilton areas only.  All other areas outside of top-50)
District of Columbia	Washington, DC
Florida	Baker, Broward, Clay, Duval, Hernando, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, St. Johns, Seminole
Georgia	Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Rockdale, Spaulding, Walton
Illinois	Clinton, Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, Madison, McHenry, Monroe, St. Clair, Will
Indiana	Boone, Dearborn, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Lake, Marion, Morgan, Ohio, Porter, Shelby
Kansas	Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, Wyandotte
Kentucky	Boone, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Pendleton
Louisiana	Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Washington
Maryland	Anne Arundel, Baltimore (city and county), Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s
Massachusetts	Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Westchester, Worcester (northern portion of the county – the city of Worcester and surrounding area is not in the top-50 urban area)
Michigan	Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Wayne
Minnesota	Anoka, Carver, Chicago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne (eastern portion including Becker, Big Lake, Elk River and Zimmerman but not including St. Cloud), Washington, Wright
Mississippi	Pearl River
Missouri	Cass, Clay, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lincoln, Platte, Ray, St. Charles, St. Louis (city and county), Warren
Nevada	Clark
New Hampshire	Hillsborough (most of county except Manchester, Goffstown and Bedford)
New Jersey	Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Union
New York	Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Putnam, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Westchester
North Carolina	Alamance, Anson, Cabarrus, Chatham, Cleveland, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Guildford, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Orange, Randolph, Rowan, Stanly, Stokes, Union, Wake, Yadkin
Ohio	Brown, Butler, Clermont, Cuyahoga, Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Geauga, Hamilton, Lake, Licking, Lorain, Madison, Medina, Pickaway, Union, Warren
Oklahoma	Canadian, Cleveland, Grady, Kingfisher, Lincoln, Logan, McClain, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie, Seminole
Oregon	Clackamas, Marion, Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill
Pennsylvania	Allegheny, Bucks, Butler, Beaver, Chester, Delaware, Fayette, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Washington, Westmoreland
Puerto Rico	All areas
Rhode Island	All areas
South Carolina	Chester, Lancaster, York
Tennessee	Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, Wilson
Texas	Atascosa, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Brazoria, Caldwell, Chambers, Collin, Comal, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fort Bend, Galveston, Guadalupe, Harris, Hays, Hood, Johnson, Kaufman, Kendall, Liberty, Medina, Montgomery, Parker, Polk, Rockwall, San Jacinto, Tarrant, Travis, Waller, Williamson, Wilson, Wise
Utah	Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah, Weber
Virginia	Arlington, Alexandria, Chesapeake, Fairfax, Gloucester, James City, Loudoun, Newport News, Norfolk, Prince William, Stafford, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, York
Washington	Clark, Island, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston
Wisconsin	Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Pierce, Racine, St. Croix, Washington, Waukesha