NCE Station Total Hits Record High – Radio World

The number of FM noncom educational stations in the United States is at an all-time high. And for the first time, they outnumber AM stations in the country.

The Federal Communications Commission has released its latest year-end tally of license totals. The category of FM educational stations has generally grown for decades, but it jumped by 191 last year and by 270 over the past two years. The FCC held a filing window for new NCE stations in 2021, propelling growth. (See chart at bottom for the 15-year trend lines.)

There are now 4,477 NCE FMs, which is more than twice as many as there were at the turn of the 21st century. And there are now more NCEs than AM stations (as shown by the crossing of the orange and green lines in the chart below).

What about commercial FMs? At the end of 2024 there were 6,625 of them, down by 38 in the past year and down by 61 over two years.

The number of FM translators and boosters is at 8,880, down by 47 licensees in one year and down by 70 in two years. Prior to that, translators had flourished consistently for many years.

We can expect to see booster numbers go up, if geotargeting finds interest among FM broadcasters.

The number of LPFMs is virtually unchanged from a year earlier, at 1,968. It should grow again as the results of the 2023 filing window kick in.

And as of Dec. 31, 2024, there were 4,383 AM stations, which is 61 fewer than a year earlier and about 100 down from two years ago. The AM category continues to decline, slowly, year by year.

The chart was prepared by Radio World based on FCC data. Keyboard users can right-click the image to open it in a larger view in a new tab.