In-car listening now accounts for the majority of over-the-air AM/FM radio consumption in the U.S., with 53% of all tuning occurring in vehicles according to Edison Research’s Q4 2025 “Share of Ear” report. This marks a +25% surge over the past decade, rising from 42% in 2015.
The increase reflects a post-pandemic rebound, where in-car listening dipped temporarily but surpassed pre-pandemic levels by 2023 and has continued to grow.Younger audiences show even stronger reliance on the car: 63% of over-the-air AM/FM radio time among 18-34-year-olds happens in-vehicle, while 57% of time among 25-54-year-olds does the same.
Women drive particularly high in-car shares, making the vehicle the dominant location for their AM/FM listening across demographics.AM/FM radio dominates the in-car environment overall, capturing an 83% share of ad-supported audio—earning it the title “queen of the road” for reaching consumers on the path to purchase.
Among drivers of most vehicle brands, over half of in-car audio time goes to AM/FM radio, with the proportion growing +23% among domestic vehicle owners.Nearly 1,700 AM/FM radio salespeople, programmers, and managers actively use Xperi’s DTS AutoStage—the in-car audience measurement system powered by data from six million U.S. vehicles—underscoring industry focus on in-vehicle metrics for this analysis.
To read the full blog post by Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights Officer, Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group®, visit HERE