Local advertising remains a large, mixed-media market. BIA forecast total U.S. local advertising revenue at $172 billion in 2024, while its August 2025 update put 2025 revenue at $169 billion. These estimates include political advertising where stated, so measurement scope matters when comparing figures.
Table of contents
- U.S. market size and outlook
- Channel shares and spending
- Digital and traditional growth
- Spending by business category
- Local television and retransmission
- Florida as a regional example
U.S. market size and outlook
BIA’s 2024 forecast placed total U.S. local advertising revenue at $172 billion, up 9.3% from 2023. The same forecast put local political advertising at $11.1 billion, 15.5% above 2020. Because political cycles can materially change annual totals, this distinction is important when interpreting the market’s underlying commercial demand. BIA, 2024 U.S. Local Ad Forecast
The later BIA forecast update revised 2025 total local advertising revenue to $169 billion, a 2.4% year-over-year decline. That August 2025 estimate was $2.4 billion below the earlier $171.4 billion estimate for the year. BIA’s 2025 forecast estimated $168 billion in local spending excluding political advertising and covered 16 media types and 96 business verticals. BIA, 2025 Forecast Update BIA, 2025 Nationwide Forecast Brief
The 2025 media split was $90.4 billion, or 53.7%, for digital local media and $77.8 billion, or 46.3%, for traditional local media. These shares describe the forecasted local-media mix for 2025 rather than a universal definition of digital or traditional advertising.
Looking further ahead, BIA’s April 2026 revision forecast total U.S. local advertising revenue at $184.5 billion in 2026, about 8.1% above 2025. The revised 2026 forecast excluding political spending was $176.1 billion, with approximately $8.4 billion in local political advertising. BIA projected total local advertising would exceed $222 billion by 2030. These are forecasts, not completed-year measurements. BIA, 2026 Local Ad Forecast
Channel shares and spending
For 2025, BIA forecast mobile local advertising at $39.6 billion, direct mail at $36.8 billion, and PC/laptop advertising at $32.1 billion. Those three channels alone represented the largest individual portions of the forecasted local advertising wallet.
The same forecast put combined television over-the-air and digital local advertising at $16.3 billion, and combined radio over-the-air and digital local advertising at $12.2 billion. The figures combine related formats, while the percentage breakdown below identifies individual categories. BIA, 2025 Nationwide Forecast Brief
| Local channel | 2025 forecast spending or share |
|---|---|
| Mobile | $39.6 billion; 23.5% |
| Direct mail | $36.8 billion; 21.9% |
| PC/laptop | $32.1 billion; 19.1% |
| TV over-the-air | 8.5% |
| Radio over-the-air | 5.9% |
| Out-of-home | 5.2% |
| Print newspapers | 3.1% |
| Digital newspapers | 2.6% |
| CTV/OTT | 2.0% |
The percentages refer to U.S. local advertising spending excluding political advertising in BIA’s 2025 forecast. Mobile represented 23.5%, direct mail 21.9%, and PC/laptop 19.1%. TV over-the-air represented 8.5%, radio over-the-air 5.9%, and out-of-home 5.2%. Print newspapers accounted for 3.1%, digital newspapers 2.6%, and CTV/OTT 2.0%. BIA, 2025 Nationwide Forecast Brief
Digital and traditional growth
BIA forecast total local media spending to grow at a 4.7% compound annual rate across its 2025 forecast horizon. Digital local media was forecast to grow at a 6.1% compound annual rate, compared with 3.1% for traditional local media. This gap describes different forecast growth rates; it does not mean traditional channels disappear.
PC/laptop’s share of the local advertising wallet was forecast to rise from 17.7% in 2024 to 19.1% in 2025. Direct mail’s share of total local media spending was forecast to fall from 22.3% to 21.9% over the same period. BIA, 2025 Nationwide Forecast Brief
In the 2024 forecast, mobile was expected to generate $34.7 billion and remain the leading local advertising medium. Direct mail’s share was forecast to decline from 21.5% in 2023 to 20.0% in 2024. These figures show how channel rankings and shares can change between forecast vintages even when the broader market remains substantial. BIA, 2024 U.S. Local Ad Forecast
Several television-related digital formats had especially high forecast growth in 2024. TV digital local advertising was forecast to grow 24.9% year over year, while CTV/OTT local advertising was forecast to grow 53.8%. TV over-the-air local advertising was forecast to grow 28.3%, an increase of $4.6 billion. Excluding political advertising, however, TV over-the-air local advertising was forecast to grow 1.2% in 2024. The difference illustrates why political and nonpolitical scopes should not be blended. BIA, 2024 U.S. Local Ad Forecast
Spending by business category
Retail was the largest U.S. local advertising category in BIA’s 2025 forecast at $25.2 billion. Finance and insurance followed at $23.1 billion, leisure and recreation at $20.7 billion, general services at $18.7 billion, and restaurants and food at $15.0 billion.
Restaurants and food had the largest dollar increase among categories, rising $1.1 billion year over year in the 2025 forecast. Finance and insurance increased by $895 million, while retail increased by $743 million. Government, political, and religious organizations had the largest category decline, falling $10.3 billion year over year. BIA, 2025 Nationwide Forecast Brief
The category growth rates provide another view of local demand. Real estate local advertising was forecast to grow 10.4% to $6.12 billion in 2025. Restaurants and food was forecast to grow 7.8% to $15.02 billion. Finance and insurance was forecast to grow 4.0% to $23.09 billion, while automotive was forecast to grow 1.4% to $11.94 billion. The slight differences between rounded category totals and more precise growth figures reflect the way the forecast presents those measures.
For businesses choosing where to concentrate local campaigns, the category data points to scale in retail, finance and insurance, leisure and recreation, general services, and food. It also shows why a single market-wide growth rate can conceal very different conditions across verticals. BIA, 2025 Nationwide Forecast Brief
Local television and retransmission
Local television remains a major part of the advertising and media ecosystem. Local TV over-the-air advertising revenue reached $20.5 billion in 2022, increasing 27% from 2021. Local TV station digital advertising revenue reached $2 billion in 2022, up 23% from 2021, and digital advertising represented 9% of local TV station advertising revenue that year. Pew Research Center, Local TV News Fact Sheet
The same Pew Research Center fact sheet reported that 842 U.S. local TV stations classified as news-producing stations generated $16.9 billion in revenue in 2022. This station count and revenue measure are specific to the fact sheet’s local TV news classification, not a count of every local advertising outlet.
Retransmission revenue for U.S. local TV stations reached $14.1 billion in 2021, compared with $12.7 billion in 2020. Kagan projected U.S. local TV retransmission revenue at $15.9 billion for 2027. The 2027 figure is a projection, while the 2020 and 2021 figures are reported historical amounts. Pew Research Center, Local TV News Fact Sheet
Taken together, these figures separate three related but distinct measurements: local TV over-the-air advertising, local station digital advertising, and retransmission revenue. They should be used for different questions rather than added together without a common scope.
Florida as a regional example
State and market-level figures show how national totals can be distributed geographically. BIA forecast Florida local advertising revenue excluding political spending at $12.4 billion in 2025, up from $11.6 billion in 2024. Mobile represented 22.3% of Florida advertising spending in the 2025 forecast. BIA, Growth in Florida’s Local Ad Market
Florida’s three largest advertising markets were forecast to account for 64% of the state’s total advertising spending in 2025. Miami–Fort Lauderdale was forecast at $3.0 billion, Tampa–St. Petersburg–Sarasota at $2.5 billion, and Orlando–Daytona Beach–Melbourne at $2.3 billion.
| Florida market | 2025 forecast local advertising spending |
|---|---|
| Miami–Fort Lauderdale | $3.0 billion |
| Tampa–St. Petersburg–Sarasota | $2.5 billion |
| Orlando–Daytona Beach–Melbourne | $2.3 billion |
Florida CTV/OTT advertising was forecast at $241.2 million in 2025, up 15% year over year. That regional CTV/OTT estimate and the 22.3% mobile share show that channel mix can vary by geography, even within a national advertising category. BIA, Growth in Florida’s Local Ad Market
For local advertisers, the practical reading is straightforward: national channel rankings provide context, while state and metro forecasts reveal concentration. Florida’s three largest markets alone represented nearly two-thirds of state advertising spending in the cited 2025 forecast, so regional planning requires attention to the specific market, medium, and forecast period.