The share of Americans who say they follow local news very closely now stands at 22% – a decline of 15 percentage points since 2016, when 37% of U.S. adults said the same.
Most U.S. adults (66%) still say they follow local news at least somewhat closely, although this number is also down. Roughly eight-in-ten adults (78%) followed local news at least somewhat closely in 2016.
This decline in attention is not unique to local news: The percentage of Americans following national news very closely declined from 33% in 2016 to 22% in 2024. And the share who say they follow the news all or most of the time (whether it is local, national or some other kind of news) dropped from 51% in 2016 to 38% in 2022.
The decline in attention to local news has occurred across demographic groups, though there are still major differences by age. Young adults are much less likely than their elders to say they follow local news: In 2024, just 9% of Americans ages 18 to 29 say they follow local news very closely, compared with 35% of those 65 and older.
But people across all age groups have become less likely to follow local news in recent years. For instance, in 2016, 23% of the youngest adults said they followed local news very closely, and 51% of the oldest adults said the same.
About half of the youngest adults (47%) now say they follow local news at least somewhat closely, while majorities of all other age groups say this.
Americans with higher levels of formal education are less likely than those with a high school diploma or less education to follow local news very closely. While 17% of college graduates say they follow local news very closely, 28% of those with a high school education or less say the same.
And while Americans at all levels of education have become less likely to follow local news, this gap has narrowed in recent years. In 2016, there were 23 percentage points between the highest and lowest education categories (24% vs. 47%), compared with an 11-point difference today.
Black Americans are more likely than people in other racial and ethnic groups to follow local news very closely. But there is virtually no difference on this question between Democrats and Republicans (including those who lean toward each party).
