The 2024 Nielsen Designated Market Area (DMA) rankings have been released, showcasing the continued dominance of major metropolitan areas while highlighting emerging trends in media consumption and market dynamics
Below is a list of the top 200 DMAs and their Nielsen rankings for the 2024 television season. Markets are ranked by population and change slightly each year based on regional growth or decline. Advertisers then use this data to target their campaigns to TV households by region.
Nielsen DMA Rankings (2024)
| DMA RANK | CITY |
|---|---|
| 1 | New York (#1) |
| 2 | Los Angeles (#2) |
| 3 | Chicago (#3) |
| 4 | Philadelphia (#4) |
| 5 | Dallas-Fort Worth (#5) |
| 6 | Houston (#6) |
| 7 | Atlanta (#7) |
| 8 | Boston (Manchester) (#8) |
| 9 | Washington, D.C. (Hagerstown) (#9) |
| 10 | San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (#10) |
| 11 | Phoenix (Prescott) (#11) |
| 12 | Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota) (#12) |
| 13 | Seattle-Tacoma (#13) |
| 14 | Detroit (#14) |
| 15 | Minneapolis-St. Paul (#15) |
| 16 | Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne (#16) |
| 17 | Denver (#17) |
| 18 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale (#18) |
| 19 | Cleveland-Akron (Canton) (#19) |
| 20 | Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto (#20) |
| 21 | Charlotte (#21) |
| 22 | Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville) (#22) |
| 23 | Portland, OR (#23) |
| 24 | St. Louis (#2 4) |
| 25 | Indianapolis (#25) |
| 26 | Nashville (#26) |
| 27 | Salt Lake City (#27) |
| 28 | Pittsburgh (#28) |
| 29 | Baltimore (#29) |
| 30 | San Diego (#30) |
| 31 | San Antonio (#31) |
| 32 | Hartford New Haven (#32) |
| 33 | Columbus, OH (#33) |
| 34 | Kansas City (#34) |
| 35 | Austin (#35) |
| 36 | Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson (#36) |
| 37 | Cincinnati (#37) |
| 38 | Milwaukee (#38) |
| 39 | West Palm Beach-Fort Pierce (#39) |
| 40 | Las Vegas (#40) |
| 41 | Jacksonville (#41) |
| 42 | Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek (#42) |
| 43 | Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News (#43) |
| 44 | Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York (#44) |
| 45 | Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem (#45) |
| 46 | Birmingham (Anniston and Tuscaloosa) (#46) |
| 47 | Oklahoma City (#47) |
| 48 | Louisville (#4 8) |
| 49 | Albuquerque-Santa Fe (#49) |
| 50 | Memphis (#50) |
| 51 | New Orleans (#51) |
| 52 | Fresno-Visalia (#52) |
| 53 | Providence-New Bedford (#53) |
| 54 | Buffalo (#54) |
| 55 | Fort Myers-Naples (#55) |
| 56 | Richmond-Petersburg (#56) |
| 57 | Mobile-Pensacola (Fort Walton Beach) (#57) |
| 58 | Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hazleton (#58) |
| 59 | Little Rock-Pine Bluff (#59) |
| 60 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy (#60) |
| 61 | Knoxville (#6 1) |
| 62 | Tulsa (#62) |
| 63 | Lexington (# 63) |
| 64 | Tucson (Sierra Vista) (#64) |
| 65 | Spokane (#6 5) |
| 66 | Dayton (#66) |
| 67 | Des Moines-Ames (#67) |
| 68 | Honolulu (#68) |
| 69 | Green Bay-Appleton (#69) |
| 70 | Wichita-Hutc hinson Plus (#70) |
| 71 | Roanoke-Lynchburg (#71) |
| 72 | Madison (#72) |
| 73 | Omaha (#73) |
| 74 | Flint-Saginaw-Bay City (#74) |
| 75 | Springfield, MO (#75) |
| 76 | Columbia, SC (#76) |
| 77 | Rochester, NY (#77) |
| 78 | Portland-Auburn (#78) |
| 79 | Charleston-Huntington (#79) |
| 80 | Toledo (#80) |
| 81 | Huntsville-Decatur (Florence) (#81) |
| 82 | Harlingen-Weslaco-Brownsville-McAllen (#82) |
| 83 | Waco-Temple-Bryan (#83) |
| 84 | Chattanooga (#84) |
| 85 | Savannah (#85) |
| 86 | Colorado Springs-Pueblo (#86) |
| 87 | Syracuse (#87) |
| 88 | Charleston, SC (#88) |
| 89 | Shreveport-Texarkana (#89) |
| 90 | Champaign & Springfield-Decatur (#90) |
| 91 | El Paso (Las Cruces) (#91) |
| 92 | Paducah-CaPe Girardeau-Harrisburg (#92) |
| 93 | Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City & Dubuque (#93) |
| 94 | Burlington-Plattsburgh (#94) |
| 95 | Baton Rouge (#95) |
| 96 | Fort Smith-Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers (#96) |
| 97 | Boise (#97) |
| 98 | Jackson, MS (#98) |
| 99 | South Bend-Elkhart (#99) |
| 100 | Myrtle Beach-Florence (#100) |
| 101 | Tri-Cities, TN-VA (#101) |
| 102 | Reno (#102) |
| 103 | Greenville-New Bern-Washington (#103) |
| 104 | Davenport-Rock Island-Moline (#104) |
| 105 | Tallahassee-Thomasville (#105) |
| 106 | Lincoln & Hastings-Kearney (#106) |
| 107 | Evansville (# 107) |
| 108 | Fort Wayne (#108) |
| 109 | Tyler-Longvi ew (Lufkin & Nacogdoches) (#109) |
| 110 | Augusta-Aiken (#110) |
| 111 | Sioux Falls (Mitchell) (#111) |
| 112 | Johnstown-Altoona-State College (#112) |
| 113 | Lansing (#113) |
| 114 | Fargo (#114) |
| 115 | Springfield-Holyoke (#115) |
| 116 | Yakima-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick (#116) |
| 117 | Youngstown (#117) |
| 118 | Traverse City-Cadillac (#118) |
| 119 | Eugene (#119) |
| 120 | Macon (#120) |
| 121 | Montgomery-Selma (#121) |
| 122 | Peoria-Bloomington (#122) |
| 123 | Bakersfield (#123) |
| 124 | Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Luis Obispo (#124) |
| 125 | Lafayette, LA (#125) |
| 126 | Columbus, GA (#126) |
| 127 | Monterey-Salinas (#127) |
| 128 | Wilmington, NC (#128) |
| 129 | La Crosse-Eau Claire (#129) |
| 130 | Corpus Christi (#130) |
| 131 | Amarillo (#131) |
| 132 | Wausau-Rhinelander (#132) |
| 133 | Chico-Redding (#133) |
| 134 | Columbus-Tupelo-West Point-Starkville (#134) |
| 135 | Salisbury (#135) |
| 136 | Medford-Klamath Falls (#136) |
| 137 | Columbia-Jeffersoncity (#137) |
| 138 | Rockford (#138) |
| 139 | Duluth-Superior (#139) |
| 140 | Topeka (#140) |
| 141 | Lubbock (#141) |
| 142 | Monroe-El Dorado (#142) |
| 143 | Beaumont-Port Arthur (#143) |
| 144 | Palm Springs (#144) |
| 145 | Minot-Bismarck-Dickinson (Williston) (#145) |
| 146 | Anchorage (#146) |
| 147 | Odessa-Midland (#147) |
| 148 | Panama City (#148) |
| 149 | Wichita Falls & Lawton (#149) |
| 150 | Sioux City (#150) |
| 151 | Joplin-Pittsburg (#151) |
| 152 | Rochester-Masoncity-Austin (#152) |
| 153 | Erie (#153) |
| 154 | Albany, GA (#154) |
| 155 | Idaho Falls-Pocatello (Jackson) (#155) |
| 156 | Bangor (#156) |
| 157 | Biloxi-Gulfport (#157) |
| 158 | Gainesville (#158) |
| 159 | Terre Haute (#159) |
| 160 | Sherman-Ada (#160) |
| 161 | Missoula (#161) |
| 162 | Binghamton (#162) |
| 163 | Wheeling-Steubenville (#163) |
| 164 | Yuma-El Centro (#164) |
| 165 | Billings (#165) |
| 166 | Bluefield-Beckley-Oak Hill (#166) |
| 167 | Abilene-Sweetwater (#167) |
| 168 | Hattiesburg-Laurel (#168) |
| 169 | Rapid City (#169) |
| 170 | Dothan (#170) |
| 171 | Jackson, TN (#171) |
| 172 | Utica (#172) |
| 173 | Lake Charles (#173) |
| 174 | Clarksburg-Weston (#174) |
| 175 | Harrisonburg (#175) |
| 176 | Quincy-Hannibal-Keokuk (#176) |
| 177 | Charlottesville (#177) |
| 178 | Elmira (Corning) (#178) |
| 179 | Watertown (#179) |
| 180 | Bend, OR (#180) |
| 181 | Marquette (#181) |
| 182 | Alexandria, LA (#182) |
| 183 | Jonesboro (#183) |
| 184 | Bowling Green (#184) |
| 185 | Laredo (#185) |
| 186 | Butte-Bozeman (#186) |
| 187 | Grand Junction-Montrose (#187) |
| 188 | Lafayette, IN (#188) |
| 189 | Twin Falls (#189) |
| 190 | Lima (#190) |
| 191 | Great Falls (#191) |
| 192 | Meridian (#192) |
| 193 | Parkersburg (#193) |
| 194 | Greenwood-Greenville (#194) |
| 195 | Eureka (#195) |
| 196 | Cheyenne-Scottsbluff (#196) |
| 197 | San Angelo (#197) |
| 198 | Casper-Riverton (#198) |
| 199 | Mankato (#199) |
| 200 | Ottumwa-Kirksville (#200) |
| 201 | St. Joseph (#201) |
| 202 | Fairbanks (#202) |
| 203 | Zanesville (#203) |
| 204 | Victoria (#204) |
| 205 | Helena (#205) |
| 206 | Presque Isle (#206) |
| 207 | Juneau (#207) |
| 208 | Alpena (#208) |
| 209 | North Platte (#209) |
| 210 | Glendive (#210) |
Top Markets Maintain Stronghold
New York maintains its position as the number one DMA, followed by Los Angeles and Chicago, reflecting these cities’ substantial TV household populations and media influence [FO]. The top 10 markets remain relatively stable, with minimal changes from previous years, demonstrating the sustained media power of major metropolitan areas.
Regional Shifts and Growth Areas
Several markets are showing notable momentum, particularly in the Southeast and Southwest regions . Markets like Atlanta (#7), Phoenix (#11), and Tampa-St. Petersburg (#12) continue to benefit from population growth and economic expansion [WW].
Emerging Market Trends
The 2024 rankings reflect several key trends:
- Northeast markets like Boston (#8) and Philadelphia (#4) maintain strong positions despite population shifts to southern states [HO]
- Sunbelt markets continue their ascent, with Dallas-Fort Worth (#5) and Houston (#6) showing particular strength [MA]
- Mid-sized markets are seeing increased importance for advertisers, particularly in areas experiencing population growth [PR]
Impact on Advertising
These rankings are crucial for advertisers and media buyers, as they:
- Guide media planning and buying decisions
- Influence advertising rates
- Help determine market penetration strategies [10]
[Full DMA Rankings List follows as provided in the original format…]
Looking Ahead
Market analysts expect continued evolution in these rankings as:
- Population migration patterns persist
- Digital media consumption habits evolve
- Economic development shapes market dynamics [HO]
The 2024 DMA rankings serve as a vital tool for advertisers and media professionals in understanding and reaching their target audiences effectively across the United States’ diverse media markets.
The Impact Of COVID On DMA Size
COVID had a dramatic impact on regional populations. As the world went into a state of COVID lockdown, urban families were trapped at home. Without enough space for both adults and kids to both work remotely, they began searching for new jobs and places to live. This accelerated the dispersion of people across the United States and created housing booms.
Big cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Jose, Boston, Cleveland, and Seattle all had substantial population losses during COVID. New York City alone lost over -300,000 people between 2020-2021. But even with loses this big, these large metros mostly stayed stable in Nielsen DMA Rankings post-COVID.
But smaller cities, like Raleigh, NC and Salt Lake City, UT saw significant growth during COVID. More affordable and less populated, these cities had a lot more to offer stressed families trying to navigate the pandemic.
Did you move during COVID? Where did you move from? Where did you go? Let us know in the comments.
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