The 2026 Local Journalist Index, a landmark annual study by Muck Rack, the AI communications platform, and Rebuild Local News, the leading nonpartisan organization advancing public policies to strengthen community news, reveals that the shortage of local journalists persists and also finds a dramatic lack of education and health care coverage in most communities.

The study used Muck Rack's expansive journalist database and a new analysis of 4.2 million articles published from January through March 2026: 

Key Findings

• The reporter shortage persists unabated. The national average now stands at 7.8 Local Journalist Equivalents (LJEs) per 100,000 residents, an 81% decline from roughly 40 per 100,000 in 2002. Last year, we found 8.2 LJEs per 100,000 residents. Approximately 70% of U.S. counties, home to an estimated 209 million people, fall below even the already anemic national average. Only 33 counties match the average number of journalists from 2002.
• There is shockingly little education and health coverage. In the analysis of all American counties, they found no education articles mentioning a community by name in 77% of counties in the first quarter of 2026. Seventy-six percent produced no local health coverage. The same pattern holds for environment (77%) and transportation (82%).
• When there are fewer journalists, the portion of coverage devoted to crime actually goes up. In counties with fewer than five LJEs per 100,000 residents, nearly one in five local articles about crime and justice, roughly 50% more than in counties with higher journalist density.  
• The financial cost is measurable. States with fewer local journalists face estimated municipal borrowing costs roughly 17% higher than average, part of what new research estimates as at least $1.1 billion in annual financial harm to communities nationwide.
• Where journalism is stronger, civic participation is higher. Counties in the bottom fifth for journalist density score an average of 40 on the Civic Participation Index—a composite measure of voter turnout, volunteering, charitable giving, and civic involvement—compared to 58 in the top fifth. In double-desert counties—places with both less than one Local Journalist Equivalent per 100,000 residents and, according to the landmark Local News Initiative at Northwestern University's Medill School, zero local news outlets—the average falls to 23 out of 100.
• Research suggests a link between local news and loneliness levels. A working paper by Danny Hayes and Anusha Trivedi, political scientists at George Washington University, has found that states with weaker local news environments have higher rates of loneliness, even after controlling for rurality. LJE data reinforces the findings: In every matched pair of states with comparable rural populations, the state with fewer journalists per resident also had a higher loneliness rate.
• Some communities are models for what's possible. Maryland ranks 16th nationally with 10.6 LJEs per 100,000, reflecting active investment in local journalism. The Baltimore Banner, launched in 2022, has grown to 100 journalists serving 82,000 paid subscribers, and its health coverage runs nearly five times the national average. And it’s a rare two-newspaper town, with the Baltimore Sun continuing to provide coverage. Vermont again leads the nation at 19.1 LJEs per 100,000, anchored by VTDigger, Seven Days, and Vermont Public, alongside locally owned legacy papers and a growing digital sector.

The report includes:

• An interactive map showing the number of Local Journalists Equivalents per 100,000 residents for every county.
• A ranking of reporting capacity by state.
• Analysis of local news and loneliness levels.
• Comparisons with the Civic Information Index.
• Analysis of LJEs and municipal borrowing costs.

“This report is difficult to stomach,” said Steven Waldman, founder and president of Rebuild Local News. “The shortage of local reporters remains so severe that communities are being left in the dark as coverage of education, healthcare, and core civic issues thins out or disappears altogether.”

"We hope this data informs smarter investments in local journalism and drives urgent policy conversations," said Gregory Galant, co-founder and CEO of Muck Rack. "Local journalists are the backbone of community trust and accountability. The stakes are too high to let this trend continue."

For the full 2026 Local Journalist Index, including comprehensive county- and state-level maps, rankings, and data, please click HERE.

Image of the 2026 Local Journalist Index webpage. Image credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago