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Local journalism is becoming an increasingly rare commodity, which is having an effect on everything from civic engagement to personal loneliness to high borrowing rates for municipal loans, according to a new study from PR software platform and database Muck Rack, along with Rebuild Local News, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on countering the collapse of local news.
The Local Journalist Index 2026, which monitored 52,000 outlets across the country, found an 81 percent drop in “Local Journalist Equivalents” (a term including such outlets as TV, radio, digital only, newspapers, podcasters and Substackers) since 2002.
That end result of that drop? While 40 journalists per 100,000 residents were working in 2002, that number has fallen to just 7.8, and in some areas the number is considerably lower. In Nevada, the #50 state on the list, there are only 5.2 JLEs for each 100,000 residents. In California’s Modoc County, it’s just 0.8. Overall, seven in 10 U.S. counties (with a total of 209 million people) fall below the average of 7.8.
The lower number of reporters, the study says, is affecting not only the amount of journalism that is produced but is skewing the type of reporting that is offered up to audiences.
Crime is the biggest draw in this climate. “It appears that counties with less local news put even more emphasis on crime than on other civically important topics,” the study says. In counties with less than five LJEs per 100,000 residents, almost 20 percent of local articles focused on crime and justice, about 50 percent more than in counties with more than 10 LJEs per 100,000.
Coming up short: coverage of health- and education-related topics. In Q1 2026, the Index’s research uncovered no local coverage at all of education in more than three-quarters (77 percent) of U.S. counties, with local health coverage absent in 76 percent. Things are no better for stories addressing the environment (missing in 77 percent of counties) and transportation (82 percent).
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The study also looks at the effects that the lack of local journalism is having on the residents of so-called “news deserts.”
One is a drop in civic engagement. The study looks at data from the Civic Information Index, which is published by the Civic News Company, the parent organization of nonprofit newsrooms Chalkbeat, Votebeat and Healthbeat. According to that index, residents in counties with a low LJE presence only scored 40 on their Civic Participation Index, with those in high-LJE counties scoring 58.
The lack of engagement is also seen at the personal level, with counties having fewer local new sources also exhibiting a higher rate of loneliness.
There’s an economic toll being taken as well. A study cited by the authors says that “local governments in news deserts—areas with no news outlets—are subject to higher borrowing costs on their municipal loans.”
However, positive trends do exist. The study notes the example of Baltimore’s nonprofit The Banner, which has attracted 82,000 paid subscribers and 100 journalists.
The 2026 Local Journalist Index was put together using journalist-level data from Muck Rack. The measurement window covers January 1 through March 31, 2026.
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