As the nation’s eyes turn to Minneapolis, they’re also turning to Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota has been the center of the news universe the past few weeks, with ICE’s controversial deportation raids and the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. But the attention of online audiences was already focused there.
Minnesota Public Radio finished the fourth quarter of 2025 as the No. 1 local public radio outlet in the United States in terms of web traffic, according to our regular rankings derived from Similarweb data. It also finished as No. 1 in traffic for the months of November and December, though Oregon Public Broadcasting snuck past it to take the top spot in October.
Operation Metro Surge was announced by the Trump administration on December 4, and the nation’s attention soon followed — even though the killings of Good and Pretti didn’t occur until January 7 and 24, respectively. In December, MPR’s traffic was 41% higher than that of the country’s No. 2 public radio website, WNYC’s Gothamist.
Here are the rankings for Q4 2025 overall; below you’ll find the individual rankings for October, November, and December.
Top 25 local public media sites, Q4 2025
Ranked by estimated visits, October–December 2025
| Rank | Website / News org / Location | Q4 2025 visits |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
mprnews.org
Minnesota Public Radio
Saint Paul
|
10,578,936 |
| 2 |
gothamist.com
Gothamist (WNYC)
New York City
|
8,503,969 |
| 3 |
opb.org
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Portland
|
7,030,554 |
| 4 |
laist.com
Southern California Public Radio
Los Angeles
|
6,100,954 |
| 5 |
wbur.org
WBUR
Boston
|
5,157,119 |
| 6 |
kqed.org
KQED
San Francisco
|
4,557,694 |
| 7 |
cpr.org
Colorado Public Radio
Denver
|
4,443,035 |
| 8 |
whyy.org
WHYY
Philadelphia
|
4,213,147 |
| 9 |
wpr.org
Wisconsin Public Radio
Madison
|
2,957,717 |
| 10 |
kcur.org
KCUR
Kansas City
|
2,715,310 |
| 11 |
wgbh.org
GBH
Boston
|
2,646,191 |
| 12 |
kcrw.com
KCRW
Los Angeles
|
2,453,307 |
| 13 |
wbez.org
WBEZ
Chicago
|
2,411,051 |
| 14 |
kuow.org
KUOW
Seattle
|
2,092,855 |
| 15 |
kpbs.org
KPBS
San Diego
|
2,022,628 |
| 16 |
wnyc.org
WNYC
New York City
|
2,017,305 |
| 17 |
stlpr.org
St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis
|
1,815,215 |
| 18 |
kut.org
KUT
Austin
|
1,748,550 |
| 19 |
houstonpublicmedia.org
Houston Public Media
Houston
|
1,562,571 |
| 20 |
gpb.org
Georgia Public Broadcasting
Atlanta
|
1,498,204 |
| 21 |
kjzz.org
KJZZ
Phoenix
|
1,338,396 |
| 22 |
wunc.org
WUNC
Chapel Hill
|
1,273,732 |
| 23 |
kexp.org
KEXP
Seattle
|
1,208,499 |
| 24 |
weta.org
WETA
Washington
|
1,135,326 |
| 25 |
wesa.fm
WESA
Pittsburgh
|
1,123,945 |
A few items to highlight:
— It’s easy to see the localized impact of Trump administration ICE raids in these numbers. Chicago’s WBEZ saw a 83% spike in traffic in October during Operation Midway Blitz. Charlotte’s WFAE saw a similar 73% increase in November amid that month’s Operation Charlotte’s Web. (Not unlike how LA Public Press saw a 2,324% spike in traffic last June covering ICE operations in Los Angeles.)
— Stations that saw major traffic spikes in October include KCUR in Kansas City (up 75% over September), Richmond, Va.’s VPM (up 60%), WVTF at Virginia Tech (up 56%), and WABE in Atlanta (up 44%). Among those who saw big jumps in November are Seattle’s KUOQ (up 87%), WYPR in Baltimore (up 44%), and — once again — Richmond’s VPM. (The former Virginia Public Media went from 201,000 to 323,000 to 514,000 between September and November.)
— December gainers were topped by the aforementioned Minnesota Public Radio. But there were also big percentage gains at KGOU in Oklahoma (up 66% over November), Milwaukee’s WUWM (up 66%), Hawaii Public Radio (up 54%), and, again, Kansas City’s KCUR (up 56%)
Top 25 local public media sites, October 2025
Ranked by estimated monthly visits
| Rank | Website / News org / Location | October 2025 visits |
± Rank from September |
± Visits from September |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
opb.org
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Portland
|
2,931,053 | ▲ 2 | +15.4% |
| 2 |
gothamist.com
Gothamist (WNYC)
New York City
|
2,728,908 | ▼ 1 | -3.8% |
| 3 |
mprnews.org
Minnesota Public Radio
Saint Paul
|
2,638,904 | ▲ 1 | +11.2% |
| 4 |
laist.com
Southern California Public Radio
Los Angeles
|
2,303,063 | ▲ 1 | +21.1% |
| 5 |
wbur.org
WBUR
Boston
|
1,699,215 | ▲ 1 | -4.4% |
| 6 |
kqed.org
KQED
San Francisco
|
1,668,731 | ▲ 1 | +2.4% |
| 7 |
whyy.org
WHYY
Philadelphia
|
1,351,347 | ▲ 1 | -4.8% |
| 8 |
wbez.org
WBEZ
Chicago
|
1,338,444 | ▲ 5 | +83.1% |
| 9 |
cpr.org
Colorado Public Radio
Denver
|
1,262,345 | ▼ 7 | -55.3% |
| 10 |
kcur.org
KCUR
Kansas City
|
1,168,653 | ▲ 6 | +75.0% |
| 11 |
kcrw.com
KCRW
Los Angeles
|
886,709 | ▼ 2 | -21.5% |
| 12 |
wpr.org
Wisconsin Public Radio
Madison
|
844,028 | ▼ 2 | -18.0% |
| 13 |
wgbh.org
GBH
Boston
|
837,777 | ▼ 2 | -1.2% |
| 14 |
wnyc.org
WNYC
New York City
|
757,160 | ▼ 2 | +1.6% |
| 15 |
stlpr.org
St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis
|
734,934 | — | +4.8% |
| 16 |
kut.org
KUT
Austin
|
678,957 | ▲ 1 | +19.2% |
| 17 |
kpbs.org
KPBS
San Diego
|
615,719 | ▼ 3 | -15.5% |
| 18 |
houstonpublicmedia.org
Houston Public Media
Houston
|
511,622 | ▲ 3 | +9.2% |
| 19 |
gpb.org
Georgia Public Broadcasting
Atlanta
|
510,585 | ▲ 1 | +5.1% |
| 20 |
kuow.org
KUOW
Seattle
|
483,687 | ▼ 2 | -9.3% |
| 21 |
wunc.org
WUNC
Chapel Hill
|
424,561 | ▲ 6 | +12.1% |
| 22 |
vermontpublic.org
Vermont Public
Burlington
|
402,699 | ▲ 7 | +25.1% |
| 23 |
kexp.org
KEXP
Seattle
|
401,292 | — | -3.5% |
| 24 |
wusf.org
WUSF
Tampa
|
380,687 | ▲ 2 | -1.5% |
| 25 |
wesa.fm
WESA
Pittsburgh
|
372,392 | ▼ 1 | -7.6% |
Top 25 local public media sites, November 2025
Ranked by estimated monthly visits
| Rank | Website / News org / Location | November 2025 visits |
± Rank from October |
± Visits from October |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
mprnews.org
Minnesota Public Radio
Saint Paul
|
3,373,196 | ▲ 2 | +27.8% |
| 2 |
gothamist.com
Gothamist (WNYC)
New York City
|
2,530,312 | — | -7.3% |
| 3 |
opb.org
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Portland
|
2,268,838 | ▼ 2 | -22.6% |
| 4 |
laist.com
Southern California Public Radio
Los Angeles
|
1,949,127 | — | -15.4% |
| 5 |
wbur.org
WBUR
Boston
|
1,761,331 | — | +3.7% |
| 6 |
whyy.org
WHYY
Philadelphia
|
1,640,569 | ▲ 1 | +21.4% |
| 7 |
cpr.org
Colorado Public Radio
Denver
|
1,603,007 | ▲ 2 | +27.0% |
| 8 |
kqed.org
KQED
San Francisco
|
1,498,287 | ▼ 2 | -10.2% |
| 9 |
wpr.org
Wisconsin Public Radio
Madison
|
1,126,336 | ▲ 3 | +33.4% |
| 10 |
kuow.org
KUOW
Seattle
|
902,225 | ▲ 10 | +86.5% |
| 11 |
wgbh.org
GBH
Boston
|
866,126 | ▲ 2 | +3.4% |
| 12 |
kcrw.com
KCRW
Los Angeles
|
777,649 | ▼ 1 | -12.3% |
| 13 |
kpbs.org
KPBS
San Diego
|
729,172 | ▲ 4 | +18.4% |
| 14 |
wnyc.org
WNYC
New York City
|
681,362 | — | -10.0% |
| 15 |
kut.org
KUT
Austin
|
672,055 | ▲ 1 | -1.0% |
| 16 |
kcur.org
KCUR
Kansas City
|
603,822 | ▼ 6 | -48.3% |
| 17 |
wbez.org
WBEZ
Chicago
|
562,727 | ▼ 9 | -58.0% |
| 18 |
stlpr.org
St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis
|
529,431 | ▼ 3 | -28.0% |
| 19 |
kjzz.org
KJZZ
Phoenix
|
514,693 | ▲ 7 | +39.2% |
| 20 |
vpm.org
VPM (Virginia Public Media)
Richmond
|
514,553 | ▲ 11 | +59.1% |
| 21 |
houstonpublicmedia.org
Houston Public Media
Houston
|
500,611 | ▼ 3 | -2.2% |
| 22 |
gpb.org
Georgia Public Broadcasting
Atlanta
|
496,350 | ▼ 3 | -2.8% |
| 23 |
wunc.org
WUNC
Chapel Hill
|
434,458 | ▼ 2 | +2.3% |
| 24 |
wesa.fm
WESA
Pittsburgh
|
433,775 | ▲ 1 | +16.5% |
| 25 |
weta.org
WETA
Washington
|
390,601 | ▲ 2 | +7.1% |
Top 25 local public media sites, December 2025
Ranked by estimated monthly visits
| Rank | Website / News org / Location | December 2025 visits |
± Rank from November |
± Visits from November |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
mprnews.org
Minnesota Public Radio
Saint Paul
|
4,566,836 | — | +35.4% |
| 2 |
gothamist.com
Gothamist (WNYC)
New York City
|
3,244,749 | — | +28.2% |
| 3 |
laist.com
Southern California Public Radio
Los Angeles
|
1,848,764 | ▲ 1 | -5.1% |
| 4 |
opb.org
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Portland
|
1,830,663 | ▼ 1 | -19.3% |
| 5 |
wbur.org
WBUR
Boston
|
1,696,573 | — | -3.7% |
| 6 |
cpr.org
Colorado Public Radio
Denver
|
1,577,683 | ▲ 1 | -1.6% |
| 7 |
kqed.org
KQED
San Francisco
|
1,390,676 | ▲ 1 | -7.2% |
| 8 |
whyy.org
WHYY
Philadelphia
|
1,221,231 | ▼ 2 | -25.6% |
| 9 |
wpr.org
Wisconsin Public Radio
Madison
|
987,353 | — | -12.3% |
| 10 |
kcur.org
KCUR
Kansas City
|
942,835 | ▲ 6 | +56.1% |
| 11 |
wgbh.org
GBH
Boston
|
942,288 | — | +8.8% |
| 12 |
kcrw.com
KCRW
Los Angeles
|
788,949 | — | +1.5% |
| 13 |
kuow.org
KUOW
Seattle
|
706,943 | ▼ 3 | -21.6% |
| 14 |
kpbs.org
KPBS
San Diego
|
677,737 | ▼ 1 | -7.1% |
| 15 |
wnyc.org
WNYC
New York City
|
578,783 | ▼ 1 | -15.1% |
| 16 |
stlpr.org
St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis
|
550,850 | ▲ 2 | +4.0% |
| 17 |
houstonpublicmedia.org
Houston Public Media
Houston
|
550,338 | ▲ 4 | +9.9% |
| 18 |
wbez.org
WBEZ
Chicago
|
509,880 | ▼ 1 | -9.4% |
| 19 |
gpb.org
Georgia Public Broadcasting
Atlanta
|
491,269 | ▲ 3 | -1.0% |
| 20 |
kjzz.org
KJZZ
Phoenix
|
454,076 | ▼ 1 | -11.8% |
| 21 |
kexp.org
KEXP
Seattle
|
429,991 | ▲ 6 | +14.0% |
| 22 |
wunc.org
WUNC
Chapel Hill
|
414,713 | ▲ 1 | -4.5% |
| 23 |
kut.org
KUT
Austin
|
397,538 | ▼ 8 | -40.8% |
| 24 |
weta.org
WETA
Washington
|
379,859 | ▲ 1 | -2.8% |
| 25 |
wfuv.org
WFUV
New York City
|
348,539 | ▲ 9 | +26.9% |
Related Knowledge Center: Local media
The hollowing out of the local news ecosystem has been well documented; in some communities, efforts are underway to reverse the growing news desert.
Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model
The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.