Data Dump: The Number of U.S. Stations on Each AM Frequency (Corrected)

Posted on by Jon Ellis

This post has been updated. More information is posted at the bottom of this page.

One of broadcasters’ frequent complaints about the AM band is that there are simply too many stations on it.

The more stations on each frequency, the more potential for interference (though in this DX’ers observation, the much larger sources of interference are electronics and electrical systems).

So, that raises the question: exactly how many stations are on each AM frequency?

For purposes of this list, I pulled a report of the licensed AM stations in the U.S. as of July 3, 2025, using the FCC’s simple AM Query tool. Yes, there are also Canadian and Mexican AM stations that can be heard in the U.S. But this method provides an easy glance at the current band.

For those who are familiar with the AM band’s structure, it’s probably not surprising which frequencies have the most stations: the six frequencies that the FCC classifies as “local” channels reserved for class C stations using 1kW day and night. They’re commonly known as “graveyard” frequencies due to their low murmur of unintelligible voices at night.

1490169 stations
1400161 stations
1450158 stations
1340157 stations
1230150 stations
1240145 stations

Conversely, when it comes to AM frequencies with the least number of stations in the U.S., there are two major groups: the designated clear channels and the “expanded band” of 1620-1700. The clear channels were originally reserved for just one or two stations at night but other stations are now able to use them at night with limited coverage areas.

First, here are the clear channels with the smallest number of stations — note that all of them have stations in the middle of the country, thereby limiting the number of stations that can fit elsewhere on the continent.

650 (WSM)8 stations
720 (WGN)9 stations
670 (WSCR)12 stations
700 (WLW)13 stations
820 (WBAP)13 stations

The “expanded band” was added in the 1990s with the intention of only placing a limited number of stations on each frequency to limit interference. No frequency on that band has more than 8 stations, though original plans called for more.

Here are the expanded band frequencies with the fewest stations. These are also the AM frequencies with the fewest stations overall:

16303 stations
16704 stations
16405 stations

Despite the limited number of licenses, the “expanded band” stations don’t have coverage areas as large as the clear channels because most are limited to 1kW at night. Ironically, that’s the same power as the “graveyard” frequencies containing more than 100 stations!

Now, the full data dump of the number of U.S. stations licensed on each AM frequency, along with the FCC’s official classification of that frequency (clear, regional, or local):

540Clear19 stations
550Regional25 stations
560Regional22 stations
570Regional19 stations
580Regional23 stations
590Regional23 stations
600Regional23 stations
610Regional61 stations
620Regional26 stations
630Regional23 stations
640Clear15 stations
650Clear8 stations
660Clear18 stations
670Clear12 stations
680Clear23 stations
690Clear20 stations
700Clear13 stations
710Clear20 stations
720Clear9 stations
730Clear25 stations
740Clear26 stations
750Clear16 stations
760Clear19 stations
770Clear18 stations
780Clear14 stations
790Regional39 stations
800Clear30 stations
810Clear25 stations
820Clear13 stations
830Clear16 stations
840Clear20 stations
850Clear22 stations
860Clear29 stations
870Clear18 stations
880Clear20 stations
890Clear20 stations
900Clear41 stations
910Regional44 stations
920Regional43 stations
930Regional46 stations
940Clear31 stations
950Regional42 stations
960Regional48 stations
970Regional42 stations
980Regional42 stations
990Clear26 stations
1000Clear23 stations
1010Clear33 stations
1020Clear16 stations
1030Clear22 stations
1040Clear15 stations
1050Clear46 stations
1060Clear28 stations
1070Clear29 stations
1080Clear29 stations
1090Clear26 stations
1100Clear17 stations
1110Clear34 stations
1120Clear19 stations
1130Clear30 stations
1140Clear28 stations
1150Regional47 stations
1160Clear23 stations
1170Clear26 stations
1180Clear19 stations
1190Clear30 stations
1200Clear18 stations
1210Clear20 stations
1220Clear41 stations
1230Local150 stations
1240Local145 stations
1250Regional51 stations
1260Regional55 stations
1270Regional48 stations
1280Regional49 stations
1290Regional48 stations
1300Regional58 stations
1310Regional54 stations
1320Regional51 stations
1330Regional51 stations
1340Local157 stations
1350Regional53 stations
1360Regional56 stations
1370Regional57 stations
1380Regional55 stations
1390Regional57 stations
1400Local161 stations
1410Regional54 stations
1420Regional60 stations
1430Regional57 stations
1440Regional53 stations
1450Local158 stations
1460Regional62 stations
1470Regional49 stations
1480Regional64 stations
1490Local169 stations
1500Clear31 stations
1510Clear37 stations
1520Clear34 stations
1530Clear26 stations
1540Clear37 stations
1550Clear51 stations
1560Clear33 stations
1570Clear57 stations
1580Clear45 stations
1590Regional60 stations
1600Regional56 stations
1610Regional0 stations*
1620Regional6 stations
1630Regional3 stations
1640Regional5 stations
1650Regional6 stations
1660Regional8 stations
1670Regional4 stations
1680Regional6 stations
1690Regional6 stations
1700Regional6 stations

*In the U.S., 530, 1610 and 1710 are used only for travelers information stations. Canada does have a few full-power stations on 530 and 1610.

CORRECTION: This post has been updated after the reporter noticed an error in the way the number of stations per frequency was initially counted. The original intention was to search for only daytime licensed facilities, therefore returning one record per station. Unfortunately, the search yielded different results and your reporter failed to notice duplicate records for thousands of stations. The original results have now been scrubbed to ensure there is only one record per station. I apologize for the confusion.