Report · Culture

15% of Americans paid directly for local news in the past year

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Just 15% of Americans say they directly paid or gave money to a local news source in the past year, whether by subscribing, donating, or becoming a member, according to a September 2025 Verasight survey.

The remaining 85% say they gave nothing to local outlets over that span.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

15% of Americans paid directly for local news in the past year.

In the past year, have you directly paid or given money to any local news sources by subscribing, donating, or becoming a member?

  • No 84.7%
  • Yes 15.3%

2025 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.3%

Verasight APSA Omnibus Survey #2025-119

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2025-09-22 → 2025-09-29
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.3%
Module
Verasight APSA Omnibus Survey #2025-119

Source

Citation

Verasight APSA Omnibus Survey #2025-119, fielded September 22-29, 2025, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.3%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/apsa-2025

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.